


Mango Shaved Ice

by The_art_of_the_fangirl



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Burns, Crying, Death, F/M, Grief/Mourning, Heavy Angst, I'm Sorry, Mentions of Blood, Mentions of Death, Minor Character Death, Nara OC - Freeform, Near Death Experiences, Original Character-centric, Panic, Queerplatonic Relationships, Team Bonding, Team Dynamics, Third Shinobi War, just a friend (not), kakashi has a friend for once, more towards shippuden and the war tho
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-05
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:27:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 65,973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23987458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_art_of_the_fangirl/pseuds/The_art_of_the_fangirl
Summary: The last time a shinobi had such a connection to their elemental affinity, Senju Tobirama was alive. Eight years before the Kyuubi Attack, another is born.Who knew it would be a Nara?
Relationships: Aburame Shibi/Aburame Shino's Mother, Akimichi Chouji's Mother/Akimichi Chouza, Haruno Kizashi/Haruno Mebuki, Hatake Kakashi & Original Female Character(s), Hyuuga Hiashi/Hyuuga Hiashi's Wife, Namikaze Minato/Uzumaki Kushina, Nara Shikaku/Nara Yoshino, Uchiha Fugaku/Uchiha Mikoto, Yamanaka Ino's Mother/Yamanaka Inoichi
Comments: 280
Kudos: 676
Collections: A Collection of Beloved Inserts, Amazing OFC fanfiction, Konoha Collection, oc self insertSI





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Bright Shade](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14128191) by [SilentComfort](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilentComfort/pseuds/SilentComfort). 



> Basically, I read Bright Shade and decided I needed more female, older than Shikamaru, Nara fics in my life but none existed. So, here we are.

Nara Shikachi was born on the 8th of May, three and a half years before the start of the Third Shinobi War. She was the firstborn child of Nara Shikaku and Nara Yoshino; she was a genius. Reading and writing before the academy, well developed chakra coils and an affinity to the ninja arts, one could even go so far as to call her a prodigy.

Shikaku had hoped to delay his daughter's entry to the academy by a few years. Alas, the January after her third birthday, the war commenced; and no child was spared. It was expected that all clans put forward their best children to support the war. 

That's how Nara Shikachi found herself sat amongst thirty other four year olds, beginning their education. 

The classes were easy, if physically taxing at first. She graduated the following year, aged five. Top Kunoichi academically and third in her year for her physical scores. 

Her hair was the typical Nara brown. Luckily, she'd gotten her mother's silkier texture which allowed her to pull it back into a low bun. She wore black shinobi pants and a green turtle neck shirt. On top of the turtle neck was a navy jacket which zipped up to her chin. Her pants were wrapped at the ankles and her feet were tucked into the regulation blue sandals on her feet. At her left thigh was her holster whilst her pouch sat on her right hip at her back. Her hitai-ate was sown into the sleeve of her jacket on her left upper arm.

She was placed on a team with Uchiha Shisui, third in their year academically and first in their year physically. 

Shisui wore the Uchiha high necked, short sleeved shirts, in navy blue with the Uchiwa fan on the back. His pants were black, wrapped at the ankles like his other teammates and tucked into the regulation sandals in black. Much like Shikachi, his holster sat on his left thigh and his kunai pouch on his right hip. He wore his hitai-ate proudly on his forehead, pulling his unruly, spiky hair away from his eyes.

The last teammate was Uchiha Shigura, second in their year both academically and physically. 

He was a typical Uchiha, through and through. From the silky black hair that just brushed his shoulders to the near identical clothing of his cousin, Shisui. He was left handed. So, his holster sat on his right thigh and his pouch rested on the opposite hip. His hitai-ate came around his forehead, as most ninja's did. 

Their sensei was Uchiha Mikoto, esteemed jonin and Kenjutsu mistress. 

Her hair was in a French braid that came to a stop just between her shoulder blades, with her hitai-ate wrapped around her forehead. She wore typical jonin blues with the uniform green vest and blue sandals to match. Strapped to each thigh was a knife six inches long whilst there was a kunai pouch attached to each of her hips. It was common knowledge that she'd given birth to her son, Itachi, just two years prior, so for her to be back in the field was unexpected to say the least.

They were Team One and as such met in training ground one for introductions. Mikoto's heart ached, looking down at five year olds and thinking of preparing them for war. She smiled all the same.

"I'm Uchiha Mikoto, your sensei. How about we go round and introduce ourselves?" They all nodded to her in affirmative and she continued, "I'll go first. Like I said, I'm Mikoto. You can call me Mikoto-sensei. I specialise in Ninjutsu and Kenjutsu and my favourite food is dango." She looked to her left and he picked up on the cue.

"I'm Uchiha Shisui. I specialise in Ninjutsu and genjutsu and..." He paused for a moment, "My favourite food is steamed buns." He finished with a nod, looking to his left. 

"My name's Uchiha Shigura. I specialise in Nin and Taijutsu and my favourite food is chocolate cake, I guess." He said. It was hard for him to choose just _one_ favourite food when there were so many sweet desserts that he liked in the village. Typical Uchiha sweet tooth. They all looked at Shikachi once he finished.

"I'm Nara Shikachi. I specialise in Ninjutsu mostly but I'm also adept in field strategy. My favourite food would have to be," she trailed off, thinking hard, "Mango shaved ice." She finished, sure of herself. 

They all looked back to Mikoto and she grinned.

"Okay!" She clapped her hands together cheerily, "I'm going to be honest with you now." The trio straightened up as she grew serious, "This team is due to be deployed to the lightning border in nine months. When I take you to the border, you will be chunin level. I've set out a schedule for us and written it down here-" 

She handed them each a piece of paper, with times for a week's rotation planned out.

"- we've been placed on the courier rotation for the first three months. So, every other week, between three days and a week will be taken up by that. I've allocated a full week. That way any spare time is a bonus. On our off week, we'll be training. I want you here at 6am sharp. We'll be covering Taijutsu for three hours every morning. We'll break for an hour at nine for breakfast and then move on to Ninjutsu from ten 'till one. Shisui, Shigura, I'll be able to help you with your sharingan during this time as well. Shikachi, we'll figure out your elemental affinity and work on that as your family techniques will have to be practiced in your own time." Shikachi nodded. All clan children expected to have to put all their family training in their own time anyway so this didn't come as a surprise.

"One 'till two will be lunch and then two ‘till five will be team training. That's where we'll work on formations and combination attacks." She looked at all of them, could see the dread in their eyes at 6am starts and smiled excitedly.

"Any questions?" She chirped. 

* * *

They met at 6am the next morning at the same training ground. Shisui and Shigura looked a lot more awake than Shikachi, who had actually arrived five minutes to and then proceeded to curl up on the grass and go back to sleep.

"Shikachi-chan! You can't fall asleep. We haven't even started." Shisui pouted, crouched at her head. Groaning mournfully, she curled in on herself.

"It's too early. The sun's barely even up." She grumbled.

"Then we best not waste daylight, huh Shikachi-chan?" Mikoto said from behind the girl's prone form, saccharine sweet. She pouted and sat up, cheeks puffed out. Standing up, she yawned lazily. 

"Okay. Time for Taijutsu practice. Shisui, Shigura, you two can spar first. You can use your Sharingan, but no Nin or Genjutsu." The boys nodded and went to the centre of the training ground whilst Shikachi and Mikoto sat at the edge of the tree line. 

The boys fought mainly using the Uchiha style. Their movements were fast and hit hard when they connected. After five minutes of fighting, Mikoto called out to them, clapping her hands together loudly.

"Stop! We'll take a minute’s break and then Shisui will fight Shikachi." She said. The boys nodded without complaint and took the minute to drink some water. Shikachi sighed, standing up and walking further into the clearing. She waited for Shigura to make it to the tree line and watched Shisui with a critical eye. The Uchiha style was compromised of speed and brutality, whereas the Nara style favoured minimising movement and dodging. 

They began. Shisui rushed her, invading her space easily and coming to strike her solar plexus with terrifying accuracy. She moved backwards, so he went to strike again, this time with his left hand. Going around his arm, she ducked down low and swept his feet out from under him. Rolling to the side, he avoided her fist and got his feet under him in a scramble of limbs. He came forward again as she tried for a roundhouse kick. Ducking under her leg, he shouldered the space between her legs and tackled her to the ground. They went down, dirt pushing up around them. She grabbed his neck and arm between her thighs in a triangle hold. He drove her further into the dirt with his other forearm pressing into her neck. They stayed like that for a few seconds before Shikachi gave in, tapping against his arm.

"Yield! I yield!" She struggled. He let go immediately, her legs releasing him simultaneously. She turned onto her hands and knees, sputtering and gasping for breath. Shisui wasn't faring much better, also crouched, trying to catch his breath.

Shikachi gritted her teeth. Even whilst tired from his previous fight, Shisui had beaten her. 

"One minutes break then Shikachi and Shigura will spar." Shikachi groaned. It was in her nature as a Nara to minimise her effort. But, staring up at Mikoto's face, she saw a desperate urgency that wouldn't account for laziness. Clamping down on that innermost desire to curl up and go back to sleep, she stood again and faced Shigura. 

They would continue rotating spars through the morning. Mikoto pointed out where they were lacking and gave them pointers on their various stances. It was what Shikachi considered hell on earth. The Uchiha didn't mess about with their Taijutsu and she was thoroughly beaten into the ground by the end of their session. She laid prone in the dirt as the boys talked above her about a specific kata they'd just learnt. She tilted her head back to look at her Sensei.

"Is it breakfast now?" She whined. Mikoto grinned.

"It will be if you get up." She stood up and they all waited expectantly. Mikoto led the way to the Uchiha compound. They entered her home, removing their shoes at the door. It was quiet. Following to the kitchen, they sat at the table as Mikoto procured four bentos from the fridge. Her own bento was white; Shisui's was red; Shigura's blue; and Shikachi's, black. They were a balance of rice, eggs, vegetables and meat. 

"Where's Itachi-kun?" Shisui asked. Shikachi took a bite of her rice.

"Ah, Itachi's being looked after by Akemi right now. She's a civilian and is watching him whilst I'm on duty." She answered. They dropped the conversation after that. 

After finishing her bento, Mikoto left the room for a minute and returned with a few papers in her hand. She placed one in front of each genin and sat back down. Shigura picked his up first.

"What's this?" He asked. Shisui and Shikachi followed suit, also picking theirs up.

"Chakra paper. Just send some chakra into it and you'll know your chakra nature." She said, picking up her own piece. It lit on fire, burning through half the paper before crumbling the rest of the way.

"Mine's fire, with a secondary earth affinity. Shigura? Why don't you go first?" She said. He nodded and focused on the sheet in his hand. It, too, lit into flames. The piece fell to the table in ashes. Mikoto smiled.

"Fire. Most Uchiha have a fire affinity so it's not unexpected." She commented before looking at Shisui. His paper burned before splitting in half. They looked at Mikoto expectantly.

"Fire and wind. A good combination." She commented. They looked at Shikachi. Focusing on the paper in her hand, she watched as it crumpled until it sat in a tight ball in her palm. Mikoto nodded.

"Lightning." Was all she said. Nobody needed to know just how strong her affinity was- not yet. 

* * *

They made their way to the same training ground. Shikachi sat in the grass watching as Mikoto showed the boys a set of katas that involved the Sharingan. Once they'd gotten the basics down, she left them with the scroll and walked over to Shikachi. The girl stood and stared up at her sensei expectantly. 

"Okay. We're going to start with a basic E-rank lightning jutsu. It's called Spark and let's you release sparks of lightning from your fingertips." Mikoto said. They opened the scroll and read through it together. Mikoto showed her twice before Shikachi nodded and focused her chakra. She made the ram seal momentarily before releasing it and holding her hand out in front of her. Sparks erupted from her fingertips easily and she jumped back a little in surprise. 

This only affirmed Mikoto's theory of her strong connection to lightning. She was broken out of her musings by Shikachi's wide eyes waiting for her approval. She grinned.

"First try. You're a natural, Shikachi-chan." She said, watching as the sparks moved from her left and right hands with ease. Shikachi looked up curiously.

"What do I do now?" She asked. Mikoto hummed.

"Do you know how many Tenketsu there are in the human body?" She asked. Shikachi could see the mischief in the woman's eyes but answered regardless. 

"361." She said. 

"I want you to do this jutsu through all 361 Tenketsu." She said. Shikachi's jaw dropped. Snapping it shut with a huff, she focused on her hands. Mikoto took her cue and meandered away back towards the boys. 

By the end of the session, the lightning was already past her elbows and creeping up to her collar bones. Mikoto hardened her resolve then and there, determined to speak to the girl’s father later.

They broke for lunch, returning to the Uchiha compound together. When they entered, they could hear sounds coming from the kitchen. Mikoto's face brightened up. They followed her to the kitchen like little ducklings.

"Team One, meet my husband, Fugaku." She said as she passed the entryway to the kitchen. There stood the esteemed Wicked-Eyed Fugaku, cooking eggs in a frying pan dutifully. He turned to her as she approached him, letting one hand fall to her waist as he leaned in to kiss her. Facing the genin, his face became much more stern. He focussed on the female genin on their team.

"I'm Nara Shikachi. It's a pleasure to meet you, Uchiha-sama." She bowed- low enough to be respectful, but not lower than she would bow to her Hokage. He nodded to her.

"Likewise, Shikachi-san." He turned back to his wife, "Do you want me to make more eggs?" He asked. She smiled shyly, packing him on the lips again. 

"Not today. I made team lunches earlier." He hummed, putting his eggs on a plate with some rice. They all sat at the table and ate quietly.

* * *

  
  


The last session took place within the Uchiha compound. They all sat around a table with Mikoto at the head. 

"These sessions will alternate between taking place here and at the training ground. We'll discuss formations and combination attacks one session and next session we'll execute them and see how efficient they are." She explained. They all nodded and she grinned. There was paper on the table if they needed it.

"Okay! Scenario one. You three are alone when you are attacked by a jonin. They have my skills and abilities. How do you approach the situation?" She asked. Shikachi's eyes narrowed.

"Where are we at the time of attack?" She asked. Mikoto hummed.

"Half a day's run from Konoha." The table went silent, everyone subtly looking at Shikachi in one way or another. Said girl hummed, bringing her hands together in front of her with a small scowl.

"Are any of us injured? How much chakra do we have? Are we tired or just woken up?" She countered.

"No injuries. Slightly depleted chakra from the run but not enough to make a difference. You've been running for eight hours already and were about to bed down for the night." She answered.

"Running isn't an option." Shikachi said quietly. Shisui turned to her sharply, eyebrows pulled together firmly.

"What? Why? Shouldn't we at least try and escape a jonin level ninja?" He asked, completely confused. She shook her head.

"Think about it. You've been running for eight hours already. So, you're tired. So tired that you couldn't sense any pursuers. If we did run, we wouldn't be able to create enough distance to make it to either an outpost or back to Konoha before they caught up again." She said. They boys agreed with her logic. 

"What's the Jonin's state like? Injuries? chakra? Fatigue?" Shigura asked. Mikoto hummed, deciding to make the exercise harder.

"No injuries, full chakra reserves, not fatigued." She said. Shikachi huffed, leaning her head on her left palm, elbow against the table. She looked at the boys.

"Do you think it's better to keep the tight travelling formation or split into a wider triangle to surround the attacker?" She asked. 

"We should split up like you said. Shigura and I can distract the jonin whilst you get her in a shadow binding jutsu, so splitting up would be good." Shisui said.

"I can't hold a jonin in my shadow bind jutsu yet." She responded and both the boys groaned, thinking they'd figured out the solution.

"I agree that splitting up would benefit us. If the jonin attacked us with a large blade or a jutsu, they'd take us out easier if we're clumped together." Shigura added. 

"Okay. So, if it's a jonin like Sensei-" Mikoto brightened up at being referred to as Sensei, "- then, they will prefer short range jutsus and weaponry. We'll be better off splitting up and attacking from a distance." Shikachi summarised. Both boys nodded again.

"Our biggest, hardest hitting jutsu would probably have to be the Great Fire Ball jutsu. Shigura and I could perform it together, which would double its size." Shisui said, looking at Shikachi for some form of approval. She nodded to him with a small smile.

"I think that's the most viable option between us. The jonin would probably dodge the fire. But we could use it to our advantage and push her into a place we want her in. If we put explosives on one side of the fireball, and me on the other, then the jonin will be pushed towards me. From there, her attention would be split between me, throwing explosives at her along with kunai and shuriken, and you two who would close in from behind. If she turns around to attack you two, I can attack her back instead. Between the three of us, we'd be able to take her down." Shikachi finished. They looked at Mikoto who was playing through the scenario in her own head. She nodded.

"If you got the timing right, I think it would work. We'll have to try it out tomorrow." They spent the remainder of the session finalising the finer details of their plan with input from Mikoto and, eventually, their first day as Genin of the Leaf came to an end. 

Mikoto walked Shikachi to the door, both women putting their sandals on. Said Genin looked at her Sensei questioningly.

"Sensei?" She asked. Mikoto grinned.

"I needed to speak to your father about a mission anyway. Figured I might be able to catch him if I walked you home." She lied. Shikachi took it at face value, not thinking much about it. Her father was the Jonin Commander so it was a plausible excuse. They walked mostly in silence, making it to the Nara compound fairly quickly. Shikachi guided Mikoto to her house and toed off her sandals in the genkan. 

"Kaa-san, Tou-san, I'm home!" She called out. Mikoto followed her student, also having removed her sandals at the door.

"Welcome home!" Came a woman's voice from the kitchen. Yoshino was cooking at the stove whilst Shikaku sat with a pile of paperwork at the kitchen table. Shikachi rounded the table, kissing her father on the cheek before doing the same with her mother. 

"Mikoto-san, what can I do for you?" Shikaku asked, cocking an eyebrow. She smiled.

"I needed to speak to you about a mission. Do you have a minute?" She said. He nodded and led her to his study. 

"Can you apply the silencing seals?" She asked. Once they were up, she spoke again.

"You probably figured out that there's no mission to talk about," she paused, waiting for him to nod and gesture for her to continue, "It's about Shikachi." He stood up straighter.

"What about her? Is there an issue?" He asked, getting concerned. She shook her head after some hesitation.

"It's not so much a problem as something I discovered. I got them to find out their chakra affinities today. Shikachi's was lightning. But- Shikaku-san- I've never seen someone have such a strong affinity. Like, never. Her paper didn't just get crumpled. It scrunched itself into a ball." She said. Their eyes met.

"Are you sure?" He asked. She nodded.

"I started her on the Spark jutsu. I've told her to perform it across all her Tenketsu. She got up to her shoulders in three hours." She answered. He hummed, leaning back against the ledge of his desk. Slumping into his customary slouch, he sighed.

"Troublesome. I can get you extra jutsu scrolls if you need. I'll try to help her with it if we have spare time after clan training. If you're right about this, she's going to paint a target on her back when she reaches the lightning border." He said. Mikoto agreed.

"We need to make sure she's hard to kill by that point. I know that you Nara prefer a more laid back approach, but we don't have time for it right now. I would ask for your continued support in encouraging and motivating her when she slacks off." She said. 

"Desperate times." He stood up again and made his way to the door, mutterings of 'troublesome' under his breath, "I'll do my best. Thank you for bringing this to my attention." They left the room and Mikoto was shown to the door. Returning to the kitchen, he sat opposite his daughter.

"So, how was your first day?" He asked, casual as ever. She beamed at him.

"It was really interesting. Ne, ne, Tou-san! I'm on a team with _three_ Uchiha. Three. They're all so driven it's kinda exhausting. Oh! I found out my affinity. It's lightning- oh and I learnt my first lightning jutsu today too! Look-" he watched with keen eye as lightning passed easily from one hand to the other. He quirked a smile.

"That's great. Sounds like an eventful day." He said. She hummed.

"It was really eventual. Super tiring. Say Tou-san, do you think I could turn in early tonight and-" she began, trying to sweeten him up. He tapped her head with his chopsticks, too fast for her to dodge.

"No. Clan training isn't negotiable. We're starting after dinner. No ifs. No buts." He said firmly. Groaning, she slumped in her seat and picked at her food gloomily. 

* * *

After dinner, they were stood in the clearing behind the house, the sun beginning to set.

"Normally I'd take the traditional route with your training. We'd start with the shadow imitation technique and build up from it. But, you're going to be on the frontline in nine months and you're not going to have the luxury of sitting back for capture whilst your teammates do the rest. Instead, I'm going to teach you Shadow Sewing Technique: Round Shadow. It's an A-rank technique and it looks like this." He crouched down and brought his hands together. Making the seals for Rat then Bird, his shadow pooled around his feet in a circle before shooting out around him. It extended out five metres before receding back to the pool at his feet. Shikachi stood, mouth agape. 

"Is there no chance that we could- I dunno- start with something a little easier?" She snarked. He sat in the grass, cocking an eyebrow.

"Nope. Now, the first step of the jutsu is to gather your shadow around you at your feet. That's what the Rat seal is for. We'll focus on that for now." He said. Pouting, she put her hands together in the Rat seal, anticipating the next few months with dread. 

Why did she have to graduate early?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shikachi: I hate exercise  
> *sees Mikoto glaring at her*  
> Shikachi: I just LOVE exercise you know, hahaha


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Training and missions for our cute little Genin ^v^

At first, Mikoto thought Shikachi just had an affinity for lightning natured chakra, but now she was starting to think the girl also had a knack for chakra control.

Within three days, Shikachi managed to do what Mikoto asked. Her body sparked with lightning all over as she channelled her chakra through all her Tenketsu. It crackled off her skin in a cacophony of _snaps_ and _pops_.

To test how lethal the jutsu was, Mikoto made a shadow clone. She stood at the edge of the clearing whilst her clone made contact. The clone didn't dispel from the shock so Mikoto dismissed it manually. 

“It’ll shock your opponents but, to be honest, if an enemy wanted to hold on, they wouldn’t have much trouble doing so.” she commented. Shikachi slumped with a pout. Hauling her student back up, she smiled reassuringly.

“Don’t get disheartened. It’s a good start and we’ll work on it. Until touching you means they _die_. Understand?” she said. Shikachi nodded, determined.

“Again.” and they kept training.

* * *

Nearing the end of the week, Mikoto took the Sunday to check her students were prepared for their first mission.

They sat in a loose circle in the Uchiha compound with all their gear laid out in front of them.

"Our first mission starts tomorrow. We'll be acting as messengers between the outposts in Fire Country. It'll take us a week total. Now, for weapons..." she started, looking over their emptied pouches.

“You’ll need two dozen kunai and shuriken- sharp enough to draw blood with only light pressure. I have whetstones so make sure you sharpen your weapons before we leave.” she said. She laid out the contents of her overnight bag and looked at them.

“The basics of your travel pack are these: a change of clothes; a First Aid kit; rations; water; toiletries and your sleeping bags. For now, don’t fill any extra space.” they looked at her confused, “At the moment, filling extra space adds weight which will slow us down during the mission.” she clarified. Once they all seemed to be on the same page again, they began going through the basics of the first aid kit and sharpening their weapons. 

Going to sleep that night, Shikachi felt ready for her first mission.

* * *

They set out at 6 a.m. sharp. Forming a tight diamond formation, they took to the trees. Mikoto took the head whilst Shigura and Shikachi flanked her; Shisui taking up the rear. It was the first time the genin had left the village. Still, they kept their focus on the mission and their surroundings. It took four hours to reach the first outpost where they stopped for 30 minutes to drop off the message, pick up any new ones and eat a quick breakfast. 

So, at around 10:30am, they began the journey to the next outpost. This one was further away, approximately five hours away at their pace. Even just getting to the first outpost was difficult for the genin, not used to the long periods of running. Still, they pushed through their fatigue and kept pace with their sensei as they continued the second journey of the day.

Reaching the second outpost of the day really began to hit home the severity of the war. Shikachi knew, deep down, that this was just the tip of the iceberg. They were at the Jūyōna outpost. This was one of the major medical stations used by their forces that wasn’t in the village or on the front line. Shinobi came in various states of injury. This was the first time Shikachi began to comprehend that she had gotten lucky- with her clan and her team. They were lucky to arrive as a full squad. Her stomach dropped at the idea of returning without any of her teammates. Squashing those feelings, she focussed on following Mikoto through the medical bay to the outpost commander’s office. 

They waited outside the room whilst their sensei delivered the message, both written and verbally. They were only at the outpost for thirty minutes maximum, but, Shikachi thought, even that small time was Earth shattering. Continuing on, they made their way to their last outpost of the day. 

The last outpost took four hours to reach. They waited impatiently for their sensei to deliver the message so that they could go eat dinner. Shikachi had wanted to start on her rations but was firmly told off my Mikoto because-

“Those are for _emergencies_ Shikachi! Not because you can’t wait ‘till we reach the outpost.” she had chastised. Said genin had pouted but complied sulkingly. The outpost canteen food had never tasted better than when they finally sat down to eat. All four ninja were asleep by 9pm, with Shikachi dreading the 6am start the next day.

The rest of their week followed much of the same pattern. They visited an average of three outposts a day, doubling back on themselves half way through the week to return to the village via the outposts like some sort of demented dot to dot. 

Returning home was a relief. Being outside the village walls, they had to be alert at all times in case of abush. But, back inside Konoha proper, in their clan houses, they didn’t have to be on guard constantly. At least, Shikachi didn’t. She’d leave that to the Jonin Commander.

Two months went by quickly. They approached their training and missions with a steady tenacity that had them moving like a team by the time they’re half way through the courier rotation. It’s as easy breathing, running in tandem and fighting side by side. 

Shikachi found the monotonous pattern comforting. It gave structure to her otherwise lofty lifestyle and pushed her to better herself. Shikaku was secretly even more of a slave driver than Mikoto. Where Mikoto would relent after three hours of training and give them breaks when they asked, Shikaku would not. He was a harsh taskmaster, setting a goal for a training session and not letting Shikachi leave until it was complete, or until she ran herself into the ground. 

The training paid off, already coming to fruition two months in. Courier runs that used to take them four hours to complete, now only took two. Running for the whole day just didn’t tire them out like it used to; and they found themselves interacting with the other shinobi at the outposts once they were stopped for the night. Playing cards was a common pastime. The games were among ninja and as such one goal was to cheat without getting caught. Shigura was never very adept in that department, always the first to lose, groaning as he splayed his hand onto the table in defeat. 

Still, returning to the village was always the best part of their routine. Having people to come back to was probably what made it so fulfilling.

* * *

  
On one of her off days, Shikachi volunteered to go to the market for her mother. Perusing the leeks, she came face to face with an old classmate.

“Junei?” she said in surprise. Said girl grinned back, holding her own shopping in two plastic bags at her side. 

“Shikachi! Man, I haven’t seen you in forever. How are you?” she said cheerfully. If you asked Shikachi, it felt fake; the happiness. No one asked. She smiled back.

“I’m doing good. We just got back from a mission yesterday so we have the next few days off.” she said. Junei readjusted her bags in her hands.

“Oh? Did it go well?” she asked. The other girl nodded with a small grunt.

“Yeah. It was just a courier mission so it wasn’t too taxing. What about you? You’re on a genin team too right?” she responded. Junei’s smile was more strained.

“Uh, yeah. We just returned from the front line last week.” she became quieter, more withdrawn, “One of my teammates didn’t make it.” she said. Shikachi swallowed, taking in the stricken girl in front of her. She held onto her shopping tightly, as if they too would vanish underneath her fingertips. Her shoulders were hunched over defensively, taking shuffled steps slightly further away from Shikachi in a subtle attempt to distance herself.

“I’m so sorry. I-I had no idea.” she said. Junei hardened herself again.

“You couldn’t have known.” she said. Her frame was taut (Shikachi thought it looked like anger. But she would never actually be callous enough to pry).

They parted ways with mutterings of _goodbye_ and continued their individual shopping quietly.

* * *

  
The courier rotation came to an end quickly. They returned from their last mission feeling ready to move on from courier runs, even celebrated a successful first three months as genin.

They arrived at the missions board excitedly a week later to find out their next assignment only to stare dejectedly.If it wasn't for the Uchiha etiquette, both boys would be slamming their heads through the wall. Instead they settled for watching Shikachi groan and flop to the floor. After a few minutes, Mikoto arrived, as bright eyed as ever. She leaned over Shikachi's prone form laying in a starfish on the floor.

"Why is-" She started. Shikachi looked up at her sensei with tears in her eyes.

"We're on the courier rotation _again_ Sensei." She mourned. Mikoto rolled her eyes. 

"Honestly, you and your hate for running is abhorrent. You're a shinobi." She chastised.

"I'm also a Nara." She argued. 

"Come on! Up! We have things to do- before noon preferably." She clapped her hands. With a groan, Shikachi followed after a spritely Mikoto and a grinning Shisui. Shigura slung his arm around her shoulders and kept with her sluggish pace.

During training, Shikachi was practicing her full body lightning spark- which she still had yet to name. It was the usual process of doing the jutsu and then getting one of Mikoto's shadow clones to touch her.

"Shikachi! If you can master that today, I'll buy you all the mango shaved ice you want from that vendor you like!" Shigura shouted from across the field. Anyone would think she was an Akimichi with her passion for mango shaved ice. In no time at all, Mikoto's clones were dispelling and she was being told that the current was _definitely_ enough to electrocute someone. Watching the electricity crackle off her student, she thought the jutsu would probably burn them to a crisp whilst it was electrifying them to death. 

They took a break for lunch. Shikachi proceeded to grab Shigura by the hand and drag him to the vendor, demanding the largest portion of mango shaved ice that the man could physically give her.

Shigura grumbled at his significantly lighter wallet as he watched his teammate inhale her favourite dessert. She grinned at him when they made eye contact and he didn’t feel so bad about the price. 

* * *

The following three months flashed by them before they could even blink. They fell into the same pattern they had been doing three months prior easily. The courier runs weren’t C-ranks anymore though. They spent their days transporting important cargo to the surrounding outposts in fire country via the use of storage seals. All their missions for those three months were B-ranks as a result. The genin enjoyed the increased responsibility and the pay that came with it.

Managing to double their running speed in the first three months was impressive but not unexpected given that the learning curve in the first three months as genin was steep. Still, by the end of the next three months, running to an outpost that used to take four hours- cut down to two- now only took one hour. Mikoto had admitted that their speed and endurance was comfortably in the mid to high chunin range one night when they were all in the hard wooden bunk beds of one of the further outposts. They all took the compliment; Mikoto had high standards that not many could meet. 

The war was in full swing throughout those three months. Shikachi thought -hoped- that her father might have less time for her due to his position as Jonin Commander. Alas, he strived to continue her training every evening she was in the village. She had come leaps and bounds since they had begun nearly six months ago. Pooling her shadow at her feet was instinctual. The hard part was extending her shadows out in tendrils. Regardless, she pushed on and was beginning to see three tendrils lifting out of her shadows like extra, spiky limbs. Shikaku had explained that they’d start with a low number of tendrils and then once she could control her starting tendrils they would add more and improve her control and dexterity with them. 

Shigura and Shisui both had developed three tomoe in each of their sharingans as well. Their development in the Uchiha style was increasingly fast. Although they specialised in Ninjutsu, their Taijutsu wasn’t something to be scoffed at. Mikoto felt more at ease, watching the duo spar. It gave her comfort to know she had increased their chances of coming back from the front line alive.

It was good progress, but they would keep pushing, keep improving. Anything, to bring them back alive.

* * *

Seven months into being genin, they were sent on their first extended mission. Their team was to trek the East coast of the Land of Hot Water and set traps where the land met the sea. This was to stop Kumo Shinobi using their channel islands to go around the strip of land connecting them to the mainland. They would begin at the coast and then work their way backwards to the border between Hot Water and the Land of Fire. It was estimated to take a month, with three weeks in the country and a half a weeks travel each way. 

They departed at dawn, chasing the sun and only stopping for a break when it was high in the sky. They stopped for twenty minutes for some food and water and then they continued running until the sun began to set. Setting up camp, Shikachi decided to finally use her vocal cords for the first time that day.

“Sensei?” she called, voice at a low volume. Mikoto hummed questioningly.

“What kind of traps are we going to be setting?” she asked. The genin watched apprehensively as their Sensei activated her sharingan. She took a sweeping look of the woods around them and then brought them into a close circle. Placing a seal on the floor, a dome came up and engulfed them, shimmering blue light before blending back into their surroundings.

“A privacy seal. It’ll keep what stays in here, for our ears only.” Mikoto said as they looked at the walls curiously.

“Now, we’re going to be setting different kinds of traps. The ones on the coast will be the most lethal. I have specialist seals that I will be placing on the sand itself. You three will stay at the treeline of the beach. Once I’ve primed the beach, we’ll be placing old school traps with rope and kunai in waves. First wave is rope, second is kunai, and a third wave will be placed with the similar seals as the ones on the beach. We’ll repeat that pattern until we make it to the border.” she explained. The genin exchanged glances.

“What kind of seals are they?” Shigura asked.

“Highly explosive seals. They’re A and S grade. I’ll be handling them so that you don’t accidentally blow yourselves up.” Mikoto remarked. Shisui looked unsure.

“What if you set one off?” he asked. They all looked concerned at the prospect. Mikoto grinned.

“Ye of little faith,” she ruffled his hair, “That’s another reason you stay at the treeline. If I set one off, the other ones on my person will explode too. If that does happen- which it’s _not_ \- then you leave me exactly as you see me and you do not cross the treeline as there could be primed explosives still in the sand. You’ll set the remaining traps and you’ll return without me.” the air was thick with tension, “You’re such worry warts. I’ve done this before. Trust me.” she finished, releasing the privacy seal and going to scout the area again. 

They all went about their duties for the camp, a lingering tension still in the air. It wasn’t something they wanted to dwell on- the idea of not coming back as a team. They bedded down anxiously that night and got little sleep.

Three days later, they were arriving at the shoreline. The closer they got, the more tense they became as the reality of what could potentially happen drew closer.

Mikoto dumped her pack at the base of a tree where the woods began to fade into sand. They watched her check for any loose pieces of clothing and that her weapons were attached securely. 

“Remember what I told you. Do not come any closer than this point at any time. Shisui, Shigura, activate your sharingan. Watch out for enemies and signal me if you see anything. Shikachi, stay close to the shadows.” she said, pulling out a wad of tags. Turning away from them, she activated her sharingan and began to make the careful journey across the sand. Who’s to say they were the first ones to rig the beach?

She made it to the water, the gentle waves licking her sandals. Kneeling down, she buried a single tag in the damp sand, giving it a drop of chakra to prime it. It was a slow process; burying each tag individually. The beach stretched five kilometers and she had to keep going back and forth to create multiple lines of the explosives. Every explosive set was another moment of stress, anticipating an explosion every time. By the time she finished, there wasn’t a single place you could step that didn’t have an explosive within a two square metre radius. 

She had started at dawn and finished at dusk, just as the sun was beginning to set. The genin rested easy once their Sensei got to the treeline, knowing that the most dangerous part of their mission was out of the way. 

Once they knew they were safe, all four took a few minutes to appreciate the sunset; the way it painted the sky in pinks, oranges and fiery reds that made the sky look like it was burning, stretching to meet the sea on the horizon. The sea itself was calm. It was a dark blue that belied its depth- waves crashing into the sand without a care in the world for the explosives buried within. 

They set up camp for the night, Mikoto would take first watch, Shikachi second, Shisui third and Shigura last. It was odd, staring at the stars in the middle of enemy territory and convincing themselves they were, in fact, at war. 

Shikachi blinked and it was sunrise- 5 a.m. She took a minute to breath and reorientate herself. These woods were not the redwoods of Konoha, nor the trees the kind Hashirama had erected over 60 years ago. They didn’t ooze the warm and protective chakra that blanketed it’s blessed village. No, because this was not Konoha- home. 

With that thought, Shikachi started her day. It was rations for breakfast. 10 minutes more and there was no trace they had been there to start with. They stuck close together as they began the rest of their mission. Mikoto would take turns with each of them, showing them the best way to rig the traps, how to hide their triggers like a _Jonin_ and how to pick where to place them. Whilst Mikoto did that, the remaining two members of Team One would lookout for any enemies.

The first half of their day was fairly slow and Mikoto checked they understood how to rig the traps as effectively as possible. They stopped for ten minutes for more rations and some water as a pseudo lunch break. 

They snaked back and forth through the woodland in the pattern they had agreed. When Mikoto set the explosives, it was met with the same anxiety as before, if not worse. They were surrounded by traps and various explosives now, so if anything were to go off, It would probably not be the only trap to do so. 

They worked in silence for days on end. It was hard to keep their upbeat attitudes when they were surrounded by heavily armed traps on all sides but one. Days turned into weeks and, eventually, the last explosive was laid down. Everyone sagged in palpable relief as they began their journey back to Konoha. 

Mikoto pushed their pace. The trio of genin noticed that she was going faster than normal and discussed it in hushed voices when their sensei went out in search of some wildlife for dinner.

“Don’t you think we’re going a little fast?” Shisui whispered. They exchanged glances with each other, Shigura and Shikachi nodding in agreement. 

“We’ll reach Konoha within two days at this rate. Not that I don’t want to get home faster it’s just…” Shikachi trailed off. They all understood what she meant though. If Mikoto pushed any harder, they would be almost entirely defenceless from an ambush. They would be too fatigued to combat any enemies, would be killed because of it. 

“Should we say something?” Shigura asked. The _I want to_ went unsaid. Their sensei returned with two rabbits, dropping them at the trio’s feet with an order to skin them before she walked to the other side of the camp. Shikachi turned around and saw the boys had already grabbed a rabbit each, leaving their sensei to her.

“Traitors.” she muttered under her breath. 

“Sensei,” the woman hummed, wrapping her ankles, “We think you’re going too fast.” she stopped, craning her neck to look up to her student from her position crouched on the ground. Searching her eyes, then those of the boys (who were dutifully doing their best to look busy and _not_ make eye contact).

“Are you sure?” she asked. Shikachi nodded, sure of herself. 

“Yes Sensei.” she said.

“Okay, thank you for telling me. I’ll slow it down a little.” she said measuredly, going back to tie off her wrappings. Shikachi returned to the boys, sitting down with a small _thud_.

“Real smooth.” Shisui remarked. 

“You can tell her next time.” She replied instead of retaliating. Shigura snorted.

“What are you laughing at?” Shisui growled.

“At the idea of you telling Mikoto-Sensei to slow down. You’d rather pass out than admit you’re _too slow to keep up_.” he jibed with a curl of his lips. Shisui snarled something fierce, dropping his rabbit to barrel into his cousin. They went tumbling, kicking up dirt as they went. Mikoto sat next to Shikachi with a gentle smile.

“ _Boys_.” she remarked, but did nothing to stop their wrestling. 

* * *

  
They made it back to Konoha a two and a half days later, parting ways at the gate to go to their respective homes, or in Mikoto’s case, to the Hokage to debrief. 

Returning home, Shikachi dumped her pack and kunai pouch in the engawa, kicking her shoes off carelessly. She trekked through the house, making a beeline for the back garden. No one else was home. Her mother, Shikachi assumed, was either in the intelligence building or at the market; whilst her father was most likely in his office in the Hokage tower. Reaching her destination, she walked through the grass to the shade of the trees of the Nara Forest that surrounded their compound. With a sigh, she flopped onto the grass and basked in the quiet, serenity of the moment.

The Nara Forest didn’t contain Hashirama trees. It had the native redwood’s of the Land of Fire. To Shikachi, they were just as comforting. There, in the safety of her village- her compound- she dozed off into the early evening peacefully. 

* * *

Staring at the mission board, Shikachi tilted her head.

“An in-village rotation?” Shigura murmured. She hummed.

“Shikachi, please stop making that face.” Shisui begged.

“What face?” she asked, eyebrows furrowed. 

“You’re _thinking_.” he responded. Shikachi huffed, crossing her arms over her chest.

“What’s wrong with that?” she puffed out her cheeks, which made Shigura smile fondly at her.

“I’m not in the mood for another one of your in-depth analysis about the inner workings of the village and its effect on _morale_.” Shisui remarked. 

Uncrossing her arms, she tittered, “I didn’t even say anything!” she exclaimed. Both boys merely raised their eyebrows, looking eerily alike in the motion. There was a pause of all of five seconds before Shikachi was raising a hand, finger pointed up, “Ok just hear me out-” Shisui cut her off with a groan, sending his hands skyward in exasperation. Shigura trailed behind him as they exited the building, Shikachi hot on their tail.

“I’m not listening Shikachi~” Shisui sang as they went off in search of their Sensei.

A few days later, they were working in the administrative building, carrying messages to the different departments as needed. It was fairly boring, but was a welcome reprieve from the constant missions out of the village that required vast amounts of running. 

“Don’t you think it’s smart though?” Shikachi pestered Shisui excitedly. Said boy heaved a sigh.

“What’s smart, Shikachi?” he asked dutifully.

“The order of our missions,” she started, ignoring the sharp look from Mikoto, “Last month was a high stress mission that made us miss the village. This month’s missions are in-village to make sure we have strong ties to the village- ensures loyalty. And next month we’ll be on the frontline. It’s a way to make our allegiance to the village stronger before sending us out, because when we’ll fight harder and go further for the village. It’s only minute differences, but, as they say, war isn't won overnight.” she summarized neatly. The group was silent for a few seconds. 

“Shikachi, be careful who you tell those thoughts to.” Mikoto warned. Her student pouted.

“Yes Sensei…” she acquiesced reluctantly.

“Pretty smart if you ask me.” Shigura muttered in Shikachi’s ear with a wide grin, slinging his arm over her shoulders to pull her into his side. She giggled, leaning into his hold with a grin of her own. 

* * *

The following month was fairly uneventful. It was a combination of running messages between different departments in the village and what boiled down to filing various paperwork. For the boys, it was probably the most bored they’d been since before the academy. But, for Shikachi, it was exciting being privy to the documents they were filing and seeing more of how the village worked internally.

Still, they finished the month of paper pushing uneventfully. On their last day, Mikoto gathered their team in her house, running them through what was to come. In two days, they would head out for the frontlines. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shisui: istg if you don't stfu-  
> Shikachi: but just THINK about it! The emotion manipulation is genius :D  
> All of Team One: why are you like this


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Team One arrive at the frontline

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning:
> 
> Added tags are: death, mentions of death, minor character death, mentions of blood, burns, panic, heavy angst, crying, mourning

They left at 5 a.m. with the rest of the contingent headed for the North-Eastern front. They were a hundred large, consisting of Jonin, Chunin and Genin. Team One was placed near the front of the group, helping to set the pace. But also, three members of their team were Sharingans. The extra set of eyes up front would be useful. It would take a week and a half to reach the reserve line, where they would be debriefed before setting out for the frontline at the following daybreak.

Mikoto watched her students anxiously. What if it wasn’t enough? What if  _ she _ wasn’t enough?

The journey was draining, spent in silence with a heavy air surrounding them. They passed through the centre of Hot Water Country, already seeing the effects of the fighting there. The people were starving. When their contingent passed through, it was a ghost town, deserted completely. 

Ninja didn’t have good connotations here.

* * *

Before they knew it, the sun was rising and they were marching, marching, marching.

They arrived to the carnage of the frontline. Shikachi didn’t know where to look. It was a clusterfuck of people, bodies and explosions. It was so  _ loud _ . Shouting from all sides was drowned out by the  _ boom _ of bombs and the clash of jutsus that left debris hurtling to the ground. The smell was a vile mix of feces, rotting bodies, mud, sweat and blood that made her want to vomit. 

Their team stared at the blinding light just over 100 metres from their position, crouched behind a rock. Peering over their cover, they watched as the figure crackled and sparked with uncontrolled lightning. It erupted from his body in the form of black panther-like shapes that attacked their soldiers at a rapid pace. No one could get close enough to stop him and anyone that did was electrocuted upon contact.

“Where’s the lightning specialist?!” Mikoto shouted to the jonin that was with them. He spat out a mouthful of blood with a snarl.

“There isn’t one!” he growled back. 

_ Fuck. _

_ Fuckfuckfuck. _

Mikoto bit her lip and looked at her student. The jonin caught the look easily.

“Do we have one? Is there a lightning specialist with you?” he shouted frantically. Mikoto swallowed, turning to her genin.

“Shikachi!” her student looked in her eyes determinedly.

_ Please say no. Please just this once. Please. Please deny me this one thing. _

She nodded and went to move round the rock but Mikoto caught her arm in a vice-like grip. 

“Trust me!” was all Shikachi said. And she was off, sprinting the meagre distance to the enemy.

“Cover her! Get her to the source!” Mikoto shouted to every ninja that could hear her. She watched helplessly as her student slid through an enemy’s knees, caking her in mud. Weaving through the maze of bodies, everyone watched with bated breath as Shikachi sparkled with unbridled energy, drawing a kunai and making contact. 

Their blades screeched under the pressure of their chakra. Shikachi took the moment of stillness to observe her enemy.

He looked like a typical cloud shinobi. Tanned skin, blond hair, white breastplate. He had a tattoo on his left shoulder which Shikachi found odd. He couldn’t’ve been older than ten. 

They broke away for half a second to engage in a fierce bout of Taijutsu. Weaving around each other effortlessly, they left grazing cuts here and there, never truly connecting.

A loud  _ bang _ broke them apart, engulfing them in a blinding fire of red then whitewhitehwhite.

The explosion sent Mikoto’s heart through her chest and stomach and right through the fucking floor to the depths of  _ hell _ because  _ oh my god. Where are they? I can’t see my genin. _

Her Sharingan whorled round and round as she cut through ninja after ninja.

_ Where are they?! _

* * *

  
  


Shisui didn’t even have time to defend himself before the explosion knocked into him. He watched with red eyes as Shigura went careening away from him. Rolling to his feet, he pushed one leg after the other. 

Shigura shook his head, trying to get rid of the whining, high pitched ring in his ears. He looked up in time to see Shisui screaming at him. He was a Sharingan, reading lips was easy. He was too slow to process the  _ move _ and  _ duck godammit _ as he felt the sharp end of a blade pierce his back and drive through until it protruded from his chest.

He didn’t even have time to cough up the blood pooling in his lungs before another kunai was slashing across his throat mercilessly. 

* * *

Shikachi woke up with a start, moving to get up but being held down by something heavy. She struggled to breath, looking down to see the trunk of a fallen tree pinning her down.

Hacking coughs made her look to her right.

There, just under two metres away was the boy she had been fighting. He turned his head to the side in an effort to get the blood out of his lungs before it drowned him. Laid out on his back, he strained against the same tree also crushing him.

Taking stock of her injuries, she looked down with a wince. The whole left side of her body was burned, badly, some of the burns already had blisters whilst others were charred black or bone white. The tree sat on her abdomen, slowly crushing her. She groaned, pushing against the log to no avail. 

After a few minutes of struggling, she stopped in frustration. All that could be heard was their combined ragged breaths and the distance clash of the front line close by.

“Hey,” she called out. He turned his head towards her tiredly, “What’s your name?” 

“Darui.” he rasped out, mouth still dripping blood. Ordinarily, ninja shouldn’t give their name out so easily, but they weren’t exactly bothered about that right now.

“Shikachi.” she offered in exchange. There was a minute’s silence as they coughed and sputtered, trying their best to breathe.

“I know we’re supposed to be enemies. But, at this rate we’re going to die here. What do you say to a temporary truce?” she offered with a weak smile. He grunted.

“What did you have in mind?” he agreed. 

“Would it be too much to hope you know an earth jutsu?” she asked grinning before wincing at the motion.

“You have far too much hope I’m afraid.” he chuckled. She huffed, only taking ten more seconds to inspect the tree.

“What if we combined our lightning jutsus? It’d burn the tree- hopefully.” she said. He nodded with furrowed eyebrows and held out his hand as far as he could stretch it.

“Grab my hand. Put your other hand against the tree. We’ll use it to ground our lightning.” he said. Stretching her arm up, their fingertips just managed to brush against each other. After a few minutes of shuffling and grunting, they managed to connect their hands properly. 

“On three.” she started, “One,” she felt both their chakra’s swirling in anticipation, “Two,” their grip on each other tightened, “Three.” a bright light engulfed them as they pressed their hands into the bark. Their hands started to sink into the wood, accompanied by a burning smell and smoke that rose up to the sky, crawling up, up, up. 

They heard the wood snap under their fingers as their section of the bark began to give way. Hands collapsed tightly, they shuffled along the forest floor until they were yanking their feet out and breaking apart to opposite sides of the clearing. They took mirrored steps backwards from each other before bolting into the trees as fast as they could. 

* * *

  
  


“Shigura!” Shisui screamed helplessly. The image of his cousin being brutally murdered searing itself into his memory. His Sharingan whorled, spinning into a shuriken-like shape. 

Chakra hung in the air, permeating through the enemy as an illusion enveloped them. Shisui stood at the centre of a massacre as he watched his enemies turn on each other, stabbing and slashing, one after another.

At some point, he’d made his way to his teammates' side. Kneeling in the mud, his hands shook. He sobbed once, twice, before throwing up. Jerking to the side violently, he tried to avoid the body. He snapped himself out of his reverie feverishly.

“Ok, come on Shisui. You can do this.” he muttered under his breath. Taking a deep breath, he removed Shigura’s dog tags from around his neck and made sure Shigura’s kunai we’re clasped tightly in his limp hands. He made the signs for snake-rat-tiger, letting a steady blue flame pass through his lips. Making sure the body was alight, he stood on shaky legs. 

Taking a cursory scan of the area, he picked his direction and started the long trek back, leaving the pile of bodies behind.

* * *

Shikachi pushed herself as fast as she could in the direction of their reserve line. The further she went, the more the pain made itself known. Her whole left side burned like she’d never felt before and, every now and then, she’d hack up blood so violently she’d have to stop moving, doubling over onto her knees until she was dry heaving.

She didn’t know how long it took her to make it to the medical tent. She tumbled in, caked in mud and blood and-god knows what- as the medic-nins picked her up off the floor. She was unconscious the moment she saw their leaf headbands secured to their persons. 

* * *

  
  


Shisui didn’t even make it to the reserve line before he was barreling into Mikoto. She was scanning the area in careful 360s, searching for any of her genin. The fact that Shisui saw her before she saw him just showed how tired she was. He sprinted at full speed and she sheathed her knives in preparation to meet him halfway. 

They collided and Mikoto sweeped Shisui off his feet, spinning him round in a tight embrace.

“Thank God you’re okay.” she breathed. Setting him down, she grasped his shoulders tightly, forcing him to look her in the eye.

“Did you see the other two?” she asked desperately. Shisui froze.

“S-Sensei. Shigura he-” ~~_d_~~ _~~ied~~ was killed.  _ He tried to say, but the words just wouldn’t come out. Mikoto lowered her knees to the mud and hung her head, still holding her student's shoulders. 

“And Shikachi?” she whispered. He swallowed before speaking.

“I didn’t see her.” he said, “You didn’t see her either?” he asked with misplaced hope.

“No.” 

* * *

Coming to consciousness again was abrupt as the last time. She shot up, feeling the phantom of the tree still crushing her and  _ she can’t breath- _

“-Shikachi. You’re ok. You’re in the reserve line in the medical tent. You’ve been unconscious for six hours. You’re safe. You’re ok.” a calm voice to her right spoke. She breathed, unhindered, and looked for the person speaking.

“Sensei?” she whispered. Said woman smiled weakly, breath hitching into a sob as she pulled her student in for a hug.

“Thank God you’re ok.” she whispered over and over, petting the younger girl's hair soothingly.

“You’re hogging her Sensei.” came a broken voice on her other side. They broke apart and she took stock of the room. 

“Where’s Shigura?” she asked in dread. Looking down at the dogtags clasped in Shisui’s hand and then back up to his face.

“He-He didn’t make it.” she pulled Shisui for a crushing hug, sobbing into his blood soaked clothes whilst he weeped  _ I'm sorry. I’m so sorry _ again and again.

* * *

The medics healed the majority of Shikachi's burns within a week. She had shiny, smooth scarring spanning her whole left side, from her ankle to just below her eye. The medics said she’d been lucky. Staring at the pink expanse on her person, tight when twisted and turned at the hip, she wasn’t so sure. Although, she guessed the other alternative was a lot more permanent, so she accepted their judgement of  _ lucky _ .

As soon as Shikachi could move mostly unrestricted, they were deployed again.

Shisui and Shikachi hovered closely to their sensei the whole trip. When they reached the centre of the fighting, Mikoto turned to them.

"Remember, I take point. Work around me. Stick close." She said over the low roar just metres away. The pair nodded, tensed up and coiled ready to strike.

Mikoto led them, drawing her knives, slicing and twirling around the enemy. She flowed like water, her genin being the harsh crash of waves, always at her heel. Shisui with his Sharingan, casting crude Genjutsu that foretold friendly fire. And, Shikachi, with her lightning that used her kunai as conduits to electrocute anyone stupid enough to engage her. 

As the sun began to set, she grinned. Shadows. Shadows everywhere. They extended out around her, stabbing, stabbing, stabbing, until Mikoto signalled for their retreat. Their sensei had been keeping a close eye on both Shisui and her chakra reserves, deciding to pull them back when they were beginning to scrape the bottom of their metaphorical barrels.

They slept close together in the barracks, preparing for another day of fighting. 

They continued for weeks, until their two month rotation was up, and they were finally heading home.

They travelled back at a leisurely pace, taking two weeks to get back to the village. It was tiring and felt like they were dragging their feet the whole way. Shigura’s dog tags sat heavily around Shisui’s neck, a stark reminder of what they had lost. 

None of them had really stopped to mourn, waiting until they were safe behind closed doors to break down.

* * *

The grief didn’t set in until 3 a.m. the day they returned to the village. Lying in the dark, with just her thoughts for company, Shikachi dwelled on her teammate’s death. If she hadn't left to fight the ~~Kumo-nin~~ Darui, would he still be alive? If she had watched his back like she was  _ supposed to _ . If, if, if. Scenarios swirling round her head and ricocheting like belts in a tumble dryer,  _ thwack, thwack thwack  _ as tears made their warpath down her cheeks one after another. She heaved a sob, feeling the loss so starkly now. Smothered her face into a pillow until she couldn’t breath and had to gasp for air in the quiet of the night. 

Her bedroom door creaked open, her mother standing in the doorway hesitantly. Shikachi reached out, looking like the six year old she was.

“Kaa-san.” She cried. Yoshino was at her side before she could blink, pulling her daughter in close. Shikachi gripped round the woman’s waist with tiny hands, fisting the fabric of her shirt between her hands as tightly as she could. Her face burrowed into the crook of her mother’s neck and drenched it in tears, snot and spit. They stayed like that until Shikachi fell asleep. Yoshino carried her little girl to her and Shikaku’s bedroom, setting her in the centre of the bed. Shikaku looked at his wife with tired eyes and tucked his child in next to him gently, whispering soft nothings into the night.

* * *

Two days after their return, Shisui and Shikachi were called to the Hokage’s office. They stood to attention, eyeing up the two flak jackets that sat on the old man’s desk.

“Uchiha Shisui, Nara Shikachi, you have made great contributions to the village in these trying times. In return, I award you the rank of Chunin for your efforts.” he said with all the grandiose of the military leader that he was. 

Shikachi took the jacket between numb fingers, bowing and mumbling  _ thank you _ ’s in a haze. Her father and Sensei appraised her with proud looks as she slipped the material over her shoulders. She felt sick to her stomach.

Shigura deserved better. 

* * *

"Tou-San," Shikachi called. He was sat behind his desk at the house. Closing the door behind her with a soft click, she waited for his full attention. He hummed looking up from his paperwork tiredly.

"Why are we at war?" She asked. He looked at her then, standing in the dim light of the moon, looking so small- like the child she was.

"Iwa declared war on us after Sand allied themselves to us." He started, "Skirmishes on and around the Fire-Hot water border became more frequent and eventually Lightning declared war on us too." He summarised, slouching in his chair. 

"That doesn't really answer my question." She said. He stayed silent, waiting for her to continue, "Did we even try to engage in peace talks?" 

"No." This was the cold, harsh reality. Neither side had even  _ suggested _ peace talks. 

"Did you want to enter peace talks?" She replied instead. His face darkened.

"No." He said sharply, "Iwa declared war on  _ us _ . Mentions of peace talks would just be admitting defeat." He seethed, "And when a Konoha Shinobi manages to enter and leave Kumo alive and intact, I will resign as jonin commander. It is not possible. Kumo do not know the meaning of having a conversation. They think of war and  _ war only _ ." She looked him in the eyes. Both hardened by the war now. She thought of Darui, so alike her, on the other side of the battlefield. In another world, perhaps they could've been friends. 

"I'll do it. Maybe not now. Or in the next ten years. But I will enter Kumo and when I return I expect to see that seat empty." A challenge, if he's ever heard one. He nodded only once, and she left.

* * *

News of Kannabi Bridge spread like wildfire. 

It angered Shikachi that no one mentioned the ninja that was lost during the mission. Only it’s success, not it’s failure. And, it was a failure to Shikachi. If you couldn’t bring everyone back alive then, what was the point? 

Sacrificing a life for “the good of the village” was a weak-willed justification. A ninja contributes more to their village alive. 

Shikachi wished that people would stop saying  _ well done _ and start saying  _ I’m sorry _ .

* * *

Her mother helped her get ready on the day of the funeral, tying her hair in the Chignon style by twisting her hair from the front to the back into a low bun. She wore all black, foregoing all weapons and her hitai-ate, as was customary.

"Do you want me to walk you there?" She asked in a hushed whisper. Shikachi bit her lip.

"Just to the gates of their compound?" She whispered back. Yoshino smiled, bringing her hand up to stroke her daughter's cheek gently.

"Of course." She murmured before kissing her on the forehead. 

They walked in silence. Shikachi kept a tight grip on her mother's hand. They stopped just outside the Uchiha Compound, Yoshino crouching down to her child's height.

"I'll be here when you’re finished, okay?" She said, gripping Shikachi's shoulders tightly. Shikachi nodded. She gave one last squeeze before letting go, Shikachi walking through the gates alone.

She arrived at the Uchiha pond that sat behind the main house. The whole clan was gathered as well as a teenager with silver hair and a blond man. It was a joint funeral for Shigura and a boy named Obito. She joined Mikoto and Shisui near the front of the crowd, Shisui to her left and the silver-haired teen to her right. She remained silent as they began. 

Each body sat on its own pyre, which were pushed a few metres into the water. Then, Fugaku, Mikoto and a few other older Uchiha made a few hand signs, snake-rat-tiger. A blue flame left their lips simultaneously and engulfed the pyres. 

“May you enter the Great Hall.” Fugaku said. They spent the next five and a half hours standing vigil. They watched in silence as the pyres burned, until there was nothing left but some wooden ash that sunk to the bottom of the water. Finally, when there was nothing on the pond’s surface, people began to disperse. 

Mikoto came to stand next to her, looking at the blond man.

“I’m so sorry, Minato-kun.” she said. He smiled tightly. 

“Me too Mikoto-chan. My condolences.” he replied quietly. 

“Shisui, Shikachi, this is Namikaze Minato and Hatake Kakashi, Obito’s teammates. Kakashi-kun, Minato-kun, Uchiha Shisui and Nara Shikachi.” she gestured to each person at the call of their names. All four bowed slightly in greeting. 

“So this is Shikachi-chan!” Minato brightened, zeroing in on her. Said girl shifted unnervingly on the spot. He turned to Kakashi.

“Kakashi-kun, Shikachi-chan here has a stronger lightning affinity than you.” he said cheerily. Kakashi narrowed his eye at her with a clear scowl hidden underneath his mask.

“Then we should spar.” he said competitively. Shikachi held up her hands, waving them non threateningly.

“A-ah Kakashi-san I really don’t think we should-” she began.

“-three days from now at training ground seven.” he cut her off before stomping away. Shikachi groaned and Minato smiled sheepishly.

“Sorry Shikachi-chan,” he said, not a hint of remorse present, “I’ll make sure to tell him to be careful, since you’re still a chunin and all.” he made one last goodbye to Mikoto before following after his student happily. Shikachi stood there baffled. What had she been roped into now?

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *whispers*
> 
> _I'm so sorry_


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rises in the ranks and new friendships.

Three days after the funeral, Shikachi found herself standing at the centre of training ground seven with an annoyed jonin staring her down. Minato stood at the edge of the clearing cheerfully with a serious Mikoto beside him. 

“Kakashi, remember, she’s a chunin. No excessive force and no lethal techniques.” Mikoto warned, crossing her arms over her chest. Kakashi nodded and readied his stance. Sighing, Shikachi got into her own position boredly, palms in front of her loosely. Kakashi looked taut in comparison to her relaxed pose. 

“Start!” Kakashi leapt at her, drawing his kunai in one smooth motion as he closed the distance between them. Shikachi drew her own kunai, one in each hand. Lightning sparked down her arms to her weapons as they connected, metal screeching against metal as Kakashi beared down on her smaller figure. She was careful to regulate the amount of electricity she sent to the boy, wary of killing him. 

Tensing up, he pushed harder, directing their kunai to the side, leaving her open. Before she could react, a sharp jab met her stomach, followed by a kick to her solar plexus. Doubling over to the floor, she rolled to get out of the way of Kakashi’s next kick, one that would have come down on her back mercilessly. 

She breathed in sharply as she attempted to dodge a barrage of punches and kicks. Most of the hits landed, sending her closer to the edge of the clearing. Letting one more hit in, she waited for them both to be under the shade of the trees. Unleashing her chakra, shadows came up and wound themselves around his body tightly, halting him in his tracks. 

Taking a moment to breath, she felt a bead of sweat make its way down her temple. 

“I yield.” she said, struggling to get the words out. Releasing the shadow binding, she fell back on her butt.

“Why did you give up? You had me.” he asked tensely. She waved him off.

“Taking you down whilst using the jutsu would be too troublesome.” she stated. His jaw tensed beneath his mask.

“You should follow through with your strikes even if they take effort.” he began scolding her. She rolled her eyes with a huff, “Get up. We’re going again.” he ordered. She looked at him in surprise but he’d already turned his back on her. With a groan, she followed him back to the centre. Looking over to where her Sensei was, she found both adults had vanished. She brushed it off easily. They could’ve been called in for a mission or meeting of some kind so their disappearance didn’t bother her. 

They took their stances again, not waiting for a signal this time. Kakashi rushed her with the same speed as before. Shikachi was more prepared now, dodging where she could as she looked for openings. Lightning sparked down her arms easily, zapping at the air when he struck. She pushed through the gaps her attacks created, aiming for his soft spots. Blocking her strikes, he grabbed both her hands and kicked her torso. She groaned, using his grip on her to support herself as she doubled over. He stilled, waiting for her to get her breath back. 

“Your taijutsu is passable. You need to learn to block better and how to make your strikes as effective as possible.” he commented as she panted. Standing up straight, she pulled her hands out of his bruising grip with a scowl.

“If you think it’s so bad then teach me.” she snapped. He nodded seriously, taking a strong stance.

“Prepare yourself.” he said. Gulping, she got into the Nara pose. Then, he attacked. 

What followed was three hours of Kakashi attacking the girl and Shikachi slowly but surely improving her defense. By the end, they were both sweating, with Shikachi lying prone in the grass. 

He nudged her side with his foot. Groaning, she shooed his shoe away with her hand halfheartedly. 

“Up. You need to eat.” he said. She looked up at him with a pout. 

“Don’t wanna. Everything hurts.” she said petulantly. In response, he merely cocked an eyebrow and crossed his arms. After a minute of staring, she huffed and stood up into a slouch. 

“Come on.” he said, walking away. She matched his pace, perking up at the thought of food.

“Hey, hey can we get mango shaved ice?” she asked excitedly. He looked at her from the corner of his eye disapprovingly.

“After rigorous exercise you should eat substantial food to promote muscle growth.” he lectured. Rolling her eyes, she let him lead them to a BBQ restaurant near the centre of town. They sat in a booth near the back with Kakashi facing away from the restaurant. She let him order for the pair of them. Three portions of meat, various side dishes with copious vegetables and two bowls of rice. Shikachi ate diligently under his watchful eye. Once she cleared her plate, he would load it up with more meat and vegetables before she could say no, lecturing her on proper nutrition all the while. 

* * *

The following days consisted of Shikachi hunting down her new found friend to train and then convince him to pay for her food when they went to eat after. After a month together, Kakashi finally asked for help with his Chidori.

Shikachi stood off to the side whilst Kakashi went through the hand signs. Lightning sparked brightly from his right hand, crackling at higher and higher frequencies. The jutsu died down and they came together.

“What are you having difficulty with?” she asked. Holding out his hand to her, he removed his glove to show the liechtenstein marks tracking from his hand to his elbow.

“It always hurts me and if I put more chakra than that then I blow my chakra pathways.” he explained. She hummed and let lightning track down her own hand. 

“Maybe you’re not attacking fast enough.” she started. He opened his mouth to counter but she cut him off swiftly, “When you use lightning, you need to expel it from your body almost immediately. Otherwise, it tries to ground itself via _you._ Hence the markings and blown pathways. You need to be able to activate the jutsu and connect with your target within two- maybe three- seconds.” she summarised. He stared at his hand in thought. 

“That… actually does make sense.” he said, standing awkwardly. After a few seconds, he elaborated.

“I need to go to the hospital to get this fixed.” he said, holding his hand out. She nodded.

“I’ll come with you. We can talk more theory while we’re there.” she said, leading the way. Jogging up to her, he kept her pace easily. 

“More theory? What else is there to talk about?” he asked, visible eyebrow furrowed. 

“The hand signs you’re using, your chakra output and your speed of activation.” she listed off easily. His eyebrow rose in surprise, following her into the hospital. He signed himself in and took a seat in the waiting room.

“You think I’m using too many hand signs?” he asked. She made a noise from the back of her throat.

“Not so much too many. More like, we could probably cut out one or two and still achieve the same result. For example, you use monkey at the start and end, creating a closed circuit. You could leave out the last monkey sign so that it stays open, making whatever you connect to hurt more.” she explained. 

“Hatake Kakashi?” a nurse called. He stood and made his way over. Shikachi stayed where she was.

“I’ll be here when you get out.” she said, waving him off. He nodded, shoulders dropping in relief. 

Fifteen minutes later, they were leaving the hospital. Kakashi’s hand and arm were healed, pink skin where the liechtenstein marks used to be. He led her to an apartment complex in one of the shinobi districts. They entered a small flat on the third floor. On Kakashi’s bed laid a pug and Shikachi had to refrain from squealing.

“You didn’t tell me you have a Ninken!” she said excitedly. The dog in question raised its head lazily and she waved with a grin.

“Ah, that’s Pakkun. Pakkun, this is Nara Shikachi.” he said, shoes already off and kneeling at the small table in the room. Pakkun grunted in acknowledgement and went back to sleep. Shikachi sat opposite Kakashi at the table. 

They spent the next few hours discussing ways to improve the jutsu, agreeing to try out their improved version once they were both back from missions. Shikachi would be staying inside the village whilst she went through therapy for her burns but Kakashi was to be sent out again. She wasn’t privy to the details of his assignment. 

He had given her strict instructions to attend all her appointments so that, when he came back in two weeks, she was healed enough for more intensive sparring. Shikachi shivered at the thought of what more intensive sparring would be like.

* * *

  
Kakashi was gone by daybreak the following day, leaving Shikachi by herself for the first time in a week. She laid in the shade of a tree at the back of her house deep in thought. She hadn’t seen Shisui since the funeral. Or Mikoto, for that matter. She decided to visit her sensei first seeing as she could tell her where Shisui might be. 

Knocking on her Sensei’s door, she waited patiently as shuffling from the inside slowly reached her. The Uchiha Patriarch was the one to answer.

“Shikachi-chan, are you here to see Mikoto?” he asked with a small smile. She smiled back and nodded. 

“Yeah, is that ok?” she asked. He opened the door wider in response, moving to the side to let her pass.

“She’s in the kitchen,” he said. Bowing quickly, she trekked the familiar route to her destination. Mikoto stood in full shinobi gear, flipping an omelette in a pan. She turned to her with a smile, eyes lighting up.

“Shikachi! What brings you here?” she asked. Shikachi sat at the table as her sensei moved around the room.

“Just checking in. I haven’t seen you since,” she paused. The name not making it past her lips, feeling heavy on her tongue, “y’know.” her smile tightened. 

“How are you holding up?” Mikoto asked instead. The girl shrugged.

“ ‘M ok I guess. I’ve been training with Kakashi-kun the past week.” she said. Mikoto’s shoulders sagged in relief.

“That’s good. Kakashi is good for you. He needs a friend right now.” she said vaguely. She plated her omelette and sat at the table. She took a bite of her food, listening as she chewed.

“Is Shisui doing ok?” she asked, gnawing at her bottom lip. Mikoto nodded, swallowing.

“Yeah. He’s been removed from active duty for a few weeks for clan training. Fugaku’s teaching him so he’s in good hands.” she explained. Shikachi nodded, relaxing minutely. They spent the next few minutes in silence as Mikoto finished her food. The woman stood abruptly, chair scraping across the floor and startling Shikachi. 

“Follow me.” she ordered, turning her back and making her way to Fugaku’s study. Once inside, she activated the silencing seals and rounded on her pupil.

“Shikachi, I need to tell you something.” she started. Shikachi waited patiently, anxiety building the longer she waited, “At the current moment, Konohagakure has no Lightning Specialists. By the end of the year, you will be promoted to either Tokubetsu or full Jonin.” They stood there in silence for half a minute before Shikachi responded.

“Where am I lacking?” she asked. If someone higher up had decided she would be made a Lightning Specialist, there was no stopping them now- short of dying. 

“I would like to teach you how to use my knives, if you will have me.” MIkoto offered. Shikachi bowed slightly with a smile.

“I would be honoured, Sensei.” 

* * *

Her first therapy appointment was at 2 p.m. However, at 1:50 p.m, Shikaku found his daughter asleep in the shade of the Nara trees. He came to a stop at her head and cocked an eyebrow.

“I know you’re awake.” he said, stuffing his hands in his pockets languidly. Opening one eye, she peeked up at him.

“Your appointment is at two O’clock. Come on, up.” he left no room for arguments in his tone. Huffing, she stood and followed him out of the compound, sulking the whole way. 

“Hey, Tou-san, can you teach me how to separate my Yin and Yang chakra?” she asked, feigning innocence. He looked at her out of the corner of his eye.

“It’s not like you to ask for training,” he commented. She pouted, grabbing his hand from his side and swinging it back and forth. 

“It’s not like you to say no.” she retorted. He let her maneuver his arm as they made their way to the physical therapy building. It sat two blocks away from the hospital, surrounded by residential districts on all sides.

“I didn’t say no.” he said lightly as they made their way inside, two minutes to the allotted time slot. They were directed to a room on the first floor and stopped just before they went in. 

“You ok to go in by yourself or do you want me to stay with you?” he murmured, crouching down into a squat. Playing with the fingers on his hand, she rocked back and forth on her heels.

“I can go by myself.” she said quietly, conscious of the amount of work waiting for him back in his office. He squeezed her hand lightly.

“You’ll be fine,” he reassured, standing up again, “We’ll begin training after dinner.” he said before vanishing into a small puff of smoke. Taking a breath, she entered. 

A woman sat at a desk inside. She turned to Shikachi with a smile and gestured to the medical bed on one side of the room. 

“Take a seat over there for me hon.” she said, writing something on a piece of paper before walking over to her patient. 

“You’re here to begin a two week course of physical therapy to treat scarring on your left side, correct?” she asked. Shikachi nodded.

“Yeah, I think so.” she said. The woman nodded. 

“I’m Yamada Yuri and I’ll be your attending physician for the next two weeks. We’ll do 15 minutes of stretching, followed by 45 minutes of chakra healing, and 15 minutes after that for cool down stretches.” she explained, “Would you mind removing your clothes so I can perform a diagnostic jutsu?” she asked. Shikachi nodded, hopping off the bed to strip down to her underwear. The physician was fast and clinical in her assessment, finishing in three minutes. Shikachi was dressed again soon enough, ready to begin the stretches. 

The session was taxing but not exhausting. Shikachi made it home by 3:30 p.m. and promptly passed out in her bed. The next time she woke up was at 6:30pm, pulled abruptly from unconsciousness by Yoshino shouting up the stairs.

“Dinner!” she called. Groaning, Shikachi rolled over. She got up with a yawn, making it down the stairs and to the table with her eyes half shut. They ate in relative silence, Shikaku and Yoshino making small talk about their days.

“Do I need anything for training?” Shikachi asked once she finished her food. Shikaku did a once over of his daughter's appearance.

“You’re fine like that, or you can get into more comfortable clothes if you want. We’ll be doing it in the lounge.” he said nonchalantly. 

“May I be excused?” she asked, looking between the pair.

“You may.” Yoshino said, collecting her daughter’s plate. Shikachi raced up the stairs, quickly changing into loose trousers and a baggy shirt before making her way to the lounge. Shikaku sat near the middle of the room, all furniture having been pushed to the edges of the room. He sat crossed legged, back not in its usual slouch. Shikachi joined him, mirroring his pose. Looking at her clothes, he nodded appraisingly.

“Right, let’s begin,” he started, “You said you wanted to separate your Yin and Yang chakra?” he confirmed. She nodded.

“We’ll start by meditating. I want you to feel for your chakra core and familiarise yourself with it.” he said, guiding her through breathing exercises. There, in her belly, a warm pool swirled around itself. Shikaku talked to her in a hushed tone so as to not startle her.

“Once you’ve found your core, I want you to perform the clone jutsu. It is compromised of mainly Yin chakra, so the largest section that you feel go into the jutsu is Yin natured.” he said, watching as she performed a perfect clone with no hand signs. She inhaled sharply at the application.

“Take a minute to adjust to the change,” he said, waiting a few more minutes for her to nod to him, “Now you know what your Yin chakra feels like and, by extension, your Yang chakra as well. I want you to start working on separating the two types. It’s ok if you don’t achieve it tonight. We’re going to keep building on this exercise until you can do it reflexively.” he finished. They sat there for another hour and a half in silence. 

Shikachi opened her eyes slowly, feeling a new kind of exhaustion wash over her as she finally released her grip on her chakra. She yawned and let Shikaku pick her up, carrying her upstairs. When he laid her down, she was already starting to fall asleep.

“Remember, therapy at 2 p.m. tomorrow.” was the last thing she heard before she passed out. Shikaku kissed her forehead and tucked her in carefully, closing her door behind him quietly. 

* * *

Shikachi woke up to a scroll waiting for her in the kitchen. It had a blue border, indicating that it was non-urgent and that she should see the missions desk. Opening it, she read through the missive quickly. _Redeployment. See missions board for more details._

Within half an hour, she was leaving the house completely geared up with an apple between her teeth. She discarded the core in a bin before entering the missions hub. Making her way over to the redeployment board, she scanned the lists of names until her eyes landed on what she was looking for.

_Nara Shikachi - 131909 - redeployed - from frontline - to intelligence - duration: 2 months_

Her eyebrows rose in surprise. She made her way to intel at her own pace, stopping at the front desk upon arrival.

“I’ve been redeployed to intelligence.” she stated. 

“Name and registration.” the shinobi behind the counter asked boredly. 

“Nara Shikachi, 131909.” she responded on reflex. There was some shuffling of papers as the teen looked for the right page.

“Nara Shikachi, reg number 131909, redeployment to intel from tomorrow morning. You’ve been moved to the Cryptology sector. Tomorrow, just come here like you did today and someone should be able to take you to where you’ll be stationed.” he informed her. She bowed with a smile.

“Thank you…” 

“-Genma.” he supplied. Checking the time before she left, she made her way to the Uchiha compound. It was approaching 9am, giving Shikachi four hours to train with her sensei before lunch. 

Shikachi and Mikoto gathered in the woman’s back garden to begin their training. Mikoto presented her student with wooden blades, identical in shape and size to her sensei’s own combat knives. 

“We’ll use these to start with.” she said. Over the next few hours Mikoto showed her student how to hold her knives and the basic katas. They agreed to meet as often as they could around their individual schedules.

Walking to her therapy session was less anxiety inducing the second time round and she was out by half past three, feeling tired and ready for a nap. Arriving home, she found her father eating lunch at the table. She hugged him from the side and he brang one large arm to return the gesture.

“How’d the session go?” he asked, rubbing up and down her back gently.

“It went ok. ‘M really tired now though.” she said, a yawn catching her midway.

“Did you eat lunch yet?” he asked, finishing the rest of his food quickly. She nodded, leaning into her father.

“Yeah, I ate before the session.” she said. He released her from their sideways embrace, standing and patting her head.

“Go rest. We’ll be meditating again after dinner.” he said. With another yawn, she sluggishly made her way to her room.

* * *

At 8 a.m. sharp, Shikachi found herself in front of the front desk in intelligence. Genma smiled at her when she approached.

“Nara Shikachi, 131909. I’m here for redeployment.” she said. Genma nodded, signing her in.

“I’ll get someone to take you to your station, just wait here.” he said. Getting up, he put his head through a door that sat behind the front desk. A minute later, a man came out and round the desk to greet her.

“Follow me.” he grunted. Shikachi was led to the east wing of the building, to a cluttered office with four shinobi already inside. The man knocked before walking in and jabbing his thumb in Shikachi’s direction.

“This is Nara Shikachi. You have her for two months.” he said before walking out. Said Chunin bowed politely. 

“It’s nice to meet you. Please take care of me.” she said. The room grinned back at her.

“Welcome! Awe man, I’m so excited! We finally got a Nara.” one of the men said. All four of the ninja approached her, “I’m Mitoku, head of the Cryptology Department.” he gestured to the man to his immediate left, “This is Kaito,” he pointed to the last male, “he’s Asashi and,” he looked at the only other female, “this lovely lady is Riko.” 

Shikachi bowed again, “It’s a pleasure to meet you all. Please call me Shikachi. I’ve never done anything to do with cryptology so you’ll have to be patient with me.” she said sheepishly. 

“Don’t worry. We’re pretty relaxed here. Why don’t you sit with me and I’ll start you off on the basics?” Mitoku said with a kind smile. Shikachi nodded and followed him to a desk covered in paper. 

“Your desk is somewhere over there. We’ll dig it out, promise.” Asashi said, pointing to one side of the room where the papers had overtaken the space in its entirety, burying her so-called desk. The pair sat at Mitoku’s desk and he began talking her through her tasks for the day. 

“I’ll run you through how we encrypt our messages today, then you’ll know what our system looks like.” he decided. She nodded and he began teaching her how it was done. 

* * *

Over the following weeks, she slowly improved in multiple areas. Training with Mikoto, she had covered all the basic katas until they were second nature and had begun moving on to the more complex movements. It also improved her stamina and agility at the same time.

Kakashi was in the village less often, but each session they had together proved more and more fruitful. Shikachi’s taijutsu had come leaps and bounds since their initial spar and she was starting to be able to keep up with the Jonin half the time. The Chidori had also seen refinements. They had begun cutting down the hand signs with relative success and reduced the backlash exponentially. 

Her training with her father felt much slower in comparison. They were still in the meditation stage, albeit Shikachi was getting faster at dividing her chakra. Shikaku hadn’t yet deemed her ready to begin splitting her two halves whilst doing anything else.

She was only required to work in the cryptology department five days a week, from eight till twelve. Once her therapy sessions finished, she had more time to train, speeding up her development. By the time she had completed her two weeks with her physician, there was no visible scarring left and she had full mobility again, which she enjoyed very much. 

* * *

After just over a month of meditating with her father, Shikaku deemed her ready to begin physically manifesting her separated chakra. It was a fairly tame exercise. Creating two balls of chakra, one in each hand. Her left hand held Yin chakra and her right, Yang. Once she achieved that, she finally decided to tell her father what her plan was. 

“Go over it again for me.” he asked. 

Shikachi took a breath, “I want to combine my lightning with my separated chakra.” she said. His eyebrows rose at the declaration.

“I can supervise you, but this is something you’re going to have to figure out by yourself.” he said. She nodded. 

“That’s fine. I just didn’t want to mess with it and then knock myself out or something.” she admitted. They made their way to the clearing behind the house.

“I’m glad you’re thinking before experimenting with jutsus.” he commented sarcastically, a clear jibe at her activities with Kakashi. Grinning, they began the long process of combining two chakra natures. 

* * *

It took months, but eventually, Shikachi achieved her initial goal, combining the lightning and Yin chakra. Bringing her hands together, she made the hand signs for rat then snake. Black lightning crackled and coiled itself from her left shoulder down and out her hand in a burst of energy. She could replicate the technique in her right arm, except the lightning would come out hot white due to the physical nature of the Yang chakra. The jutsu made contact with a tree, leaving charred liechtenstein markings in its wake. 

Shikachi already knew what shape she wanted it to take.

* * *

Christmas came around in the blink of an eye. The holiday was typically a time for family to come together, exchange presents and share a meal. Shikachi had invited Kakashi to her family’s dinner (which would actually be a joint Ino-Shika-Cho gathering but he didn’t need to know that), however the teen had declined, stating that he would be staying with Minato and Minato’s wife, Kushina, for the duration of the holiday period. 

Shikachi had actually been invited to the Uchiha household for their celebrations. As they were pagan, they held Yule on the 21th December, four days before the rest of the village would hold Christmas. It was in celebration of the winter solstice, taking place on the shortest day of the year. Yule saw just shy of eight hours of light, the festivities taking place after sundown. 

She had agreed enthusiastically, excited to see the bonfire and other festivities for the first time. 

Since Yule marked the apex of winter, there was snow _everywhere._ Yoshino had refused to let her daughter leave the house without being appropriately dressed. She wore a base layer of leggings and a tight t-shirt. On top of that was a fleece and a pair of trousers, which were tucked into thick socks. Her feet sported fluffy snow boots and she was fully kitted up her hat, scarf and gloves. To top it all off she had a warm coat, zipped to the top. 

“This is so impractical!” she complained. A sharp look from her mother and she was quietening down quickly. 

“It’ll keep you warm. Now come on, I’ll walk you there.” she said, bundled up in her own layers of clothing. Pouting, Shikachi took her mother's hand, grumbling about how she could regulate her temperature with her chakra _just fine._ Her complaints fell on deaf ears as she was promptly dropped off at the gates of the Uchiha compound. 

Walking through the main street of the compound, she looked around with wide eyes. There were various stools with games such as apple bobbing, spill the milk and walk the wire. Some of the activities were clearly for civilians, whilst others specified _no chakra_ to even the playing field. There were also various stands selling warm food and drink, such as hot apple cider and dumplings. Every house was decorated with lanterns and candles, lighting up the whole street. 

Making her way to the Main House, she found Mikoto zipping her son into a coat thicker than her own with an excited Shisui beside him, wrapped up in his own winter attire. She waved when she got close.

“Shikachi! I’m glad you could make it!” Shisui said as she saddled up on his other side. She secretly thanked her mother for the extensive outfit, cheeks and nose already reddening from the biting cold. Mikoto smiled at her, placing a hand on the smallest child’s back.

“This is Itachi. Itachi, this is my student, Nara Shikachi.” she introduced. Said boy waved shyly, taking shelter behind his mother’s legs. Shikachi waved with a closed-eye smile.

“It’s nice to meet you Itachi!” she looked at her sensei excitedly, “When do you light the bonfire?” she asked, unable to help herself. Shisui laughed. 

“We light it at midnight.” It was just turning eight O’clock. Shisui grabbed Shikachi’s hand, pulling her along down the street, “Come on, I wanna show you so many stools!” he said. 

They spent the next few hours visiting as many of the stands as they could, filling up on food and attempting all the games they could. The one that Shikachi particularly enjoyed was _Walk the Wire_ which was a line of ninja wire, tied at an angle to a tree. The aim was to climb up it and touch the tree on the marking painted. No chakra was allowed and it was a lot harder to balance in snow boots than it was in her usual ninja attire. It was really amusing to watch Shisui fall off it for the fifth time, burying his head in the snow below. 

Finally, they all gathered around the pyramid of wood, counting down the seconds to midnight. Mikoto, Fugaku and the clan elders encircled the pile of logs, forming the hand signs in unison at the strike of the hour. Orange flames emitted from them and engulfed the lumber gently. The fire licked at the wood, catching it alight. The crowd cheered as it burned brightly, reaching to touch the sky.

They stood around the fire for another hour, sipping on hot chocolate and huddling for warmth. Itachi was asleep in Mikoto’s arms, bless the woman, holding him for so long. They made their way back to the Main House as a languid pace. 

“I’ll walk you back.” Fugaku said as the others began making their way inside. Shikachi smiled tiredly.

“Thank you.” she yawned, taking Fugaku’s hand on instinct. The man stiffened before squeezing her gently in his grip. The man insisted on walking her all the way to her front door, which Shikachi didn’t complain about. Her father opened the door just as they were about to knock. Shikaku smiled, hugging her lightly as she barreled into him. 

“Thank you for walking her home.” he said with a small bow.

“Of course. It was no problem.” he said. Shikaku kissed his daughter’s head, ushering her upstairs once she managed to remove her boots.

“I appreciate it.” Shikaku said once Shikachi was out of earshot. Fugaku nodded.

“She’s always welcome at the Uchiha household.” he said before leaving. Shikaku stood at the door stunned. It wasn’t often that another clan gained the favour of the Uchiha, as segregated as they were in their beliefs. Making his way upstairs, he peeked into his daughter’s bedroom to find her already asleep, only having stripped down to her base layer before crawling under the sheets. Quietly, he picked up the stray clothing littering the floor, folding them onto a chair before going to bed.

* * *

Shikachi woke up on Christmas day a ball of excitement. She bounded down stairs minutes after waking, greeting her parents who were already up. After sharing hugs and exchanging _Merry Christmas_ ’s, they sat at the table for a small breakfast. They would be having lunch at the Akimichi household for 1 p.m. so didn’t want to fill up on food. Dressing in their best civilian clothes, they made their way with plenty of time to spare. 

Shikachi wore a forest green A-line dress that was long sleeved and came to her ankles, on top of which was her puffy coat, hat, gloves and scarf, snow boots encasing her feet. She had her weapons underneath her dress- just in case, though she doubted she’d need them with the whole of the Ino-Shika-Cho extended family coming together. 

Arriving at the Main House in the Akimichi compound, she brightened up as she removed her outerwear, “Inoichi-oji! Chouza-oji!” she greeted enthusiastically, bounding into them for a quick hug each.

At one O’clock, all of the Yamanaka, Akimichi and Nara were sat around multiple tables, linking hands for a prayer before beginning their food.

“Lord, thank You for the food before us, the family and friends beside us and the love between us. Amen.” Chouza said, murmurs of _Amen_ echoing throughout the room before everyone dug in. The rest of the evening was filled with laughter as they ate and shared stories.

* * *

By January, most of the snow was still stuck to the ground, crunching softly under Shikachi’s feet as she breathed in the cold air of the morning. She had the week off from her stint at intel, her two months having finished just before the start of the festive season. She was waiting for her next redeployment notice, which probably wouldn’t be until nearer the end of the week. 

Her father stood at the edge of the whitened clearing. She brought her hands together. _Rat-snake-dog_. Twin wolves erupted from her arms, one an electric blue-white and the other a striking black. They crackled and roared as they touched down into the snow, travelling about half a metre before dispersing. Shikachi’s chest heaved, sweat trailing down her temple even in the cold weather.

“It’s a good start.” Shikaku broke the silence, “We’ll work on extending your reach next and also expanding your chakra reserves.” he commented. Coming from a ninja clan, her reserves weren’t small for her age, but there was always room for improvement. Shikachi gulped at the thought of what exercises she would be doing to increase their size.

* * *

On the last day before her week off was over, she received the missive to visit the missions desk to check her redeployment. Reaching the same board as two months prior, she cocked an eyebrow when she found her name.

_Nara Shikachi - 131909 - redeployment - from intelligence - to intelligence - duration: unknown_

The following day, she made her way to the front desk of intel. Sadly Genma was no longer manning it, only doing the job whilst he was on medical leave. 

“Nara Shikachi, 131909. You’ve been redeployed from Cryptology to…” he shuffled his papers, “...Cryptology?” he said, looking at her questioningly before shrugging, “That’s what it says. You can go ahead and make your own way there.” he said. Shrugging back at him, she started towards the east wing. 

Walking into the same cramped office, she was greeted by the same four people she’d been working with for the past few months.

“Shikachi! Welcome back!” Mitoku greeted. She smiled at him questioningly.

“Not that I’m not happy to be here but, it said I redeployed from Cryptology _to_ Cryptology?” she asked, making her way to her desk.

“Oh, yeah, sorry about that. We wanted to keep you on here since you’ve got the knack for it. It’s just classed as a redeployment so it’s easier to file the information. You’ll be working here for your usual shift unless you’re called in for a mission.” Mitoku explained. She nodded, grabbing the stack of papers closest to her.

“Fine by me.” she said. 

* * *

Over the coming months, she began taking missions again and continued her training with Mikoto, Kakashi and Shikaku. 

The majority of her missions were taken under more experienced Jonin and often she would be the only Chunin assigned to the team. The missions were varied in nature, ranging from ambush to protective details. It was clear her team leaders were being tipped off about her lightning affinity before leaving the village as she used it repeatedly. 

April marked the completion of her jutsu, named Twin Wolves for its dual nature. It had a range of ten metres and she had relative control over their movements. They would dissipate after 45 seconds currently, but she was actively working to extend that time. 

The completion of the jutsu also coincided with her first mission as team leader. She arrived at the Hokage’s office, bowing and then standing to attention with her other teammates. Among them was Genma, along with Daichi and Kousuke, two shinobi that Shikachi had worked with before. All three were Jonin, making the real reason for her placement on the team obvious. This was a test.

Reading the scroll, she digested the information quickly whilst the Hokage debriefed them.

“Nara Shikachi, you will be the leader for this mission. It is an A-rank assassination mission to Hot Water. You have two targets. The first is a rogue from Konoha, he was classed as a missing nin an hour ago. The second is his liaison, who we assume is meeting him somewhere in Hot Water. You have two weeks.” he summarised. Pocketing the scroll, she nodded and bowed.

Turning to her team, she spoke, “We leave in fifteen. Meet by the East Gate.” 

They were geared up and at the gates with five minutes to spare. Once signed out, they planned their route to Hot Water. Shikachi trailed a path that avoided a portion of the border of Hot Water with her finger, running alongside it until they would be nearer the North of the country. 

“Why don't we just go in here and cut across?” Daichi questioned.

“This whole section from the border to the coast is primed with explosives.” she answered easily, letting their surprise wash over her pleasantly, “Ready to go?” she asked, rolling up her map and depositing it in her pack. With three affirmations from the others, they were off. Shikachi took point, which felt odd. Genma and Kousuke flanked her and Daichi brought up the rear. 

They took three and a half days to cross through the border and had slowed their pace as they approached the capital.

The plan was rather simple, locate the target, wait for him to rendezvous with the liaison, and then ambush them. They had been given a full rundown of the rogue's abilities. He specialised in Earth Release and Taijutsu. As such, Daichi and Shikachi would tag team him, using her lightning and his taijutsu to eliminate the target. All Shikachi needed was an opening provided by Daichi and she would make sure he stayed dead. 

The liaison was more difficult. Genma would aim to poison them whilst Kousuke distracted them with a genjutsu and then they would regroup as four and conduct a combined attack. Shikachi was keeping her Twin Wolves Jutsu under tight wraps until they ambushed the target.

A day later found the four of them hiding amongst the undergrowth of Hot Water country, eying up their target and the liaison with bated breath. The three men watched as Shikachi had her hand raised, waiting for when it would snap down and they would attack. 

In the blink of an eye, they were moving. The pair in the clearing broke apart quickly, an earth jutsu rippling through the ground towards them. Channeling lightning through the ground as she ran, Shikachi cleared the path for her teammates she made first contact, kunai bearing down on her own as she sparked. She saw the enemy tense up before dropping to the floor, twitching uncontrollably. Following through, her kunai came to his neck as he hit the ground, slicing cleanly through the jugular and splattering her face and clothes in arterial spray. Turning to the last enemy, she saw he was keeping her teammates at bay with midrange water jutsus. Bringing her hands together, she took a deep breath. 

_Rat-snake-dog_

Twin Wolves shrieked and howled as they moved from her arms to the ground, crossing the megre distance between her and the liaison with ease. He dodged their first attack, but didn’t anticipate that they would double back, striking him from behind. Dropping to the ground, he convulsed, the water surrounding him only amplifying the electrocution. Drawing a fresh kunai, she crossed the distance and slashed his throat mercilessly.

“Take the dog tags and burn the bodies.” she ordered, ripping the liaison’s from his neck in a swift tug. 

Ten minutes later and the only sign that anything had happened in the clearing was the blood splattered on Shikachi’s clothes and face, now dried speckles. They trekked the same route back, washing up once they stopped for the night. They were handing in the dog tags to the Hokage with the words _mission successful_ coming from her lips three days after the conflict in Hot Water. 

From there, her missions as team leader only increased, being sent for ambush and assassination more and more. Soon enough, she was turning seven. The celebration felt like she had been doused in ice-cold water. Not even seven and she was leading assassination missions. 

Pushing the thoughts aside, she focused on the people that had gathered for her birthday. Her parents were there, as were Kakashi, Mikoto and Shisui. 

They had dinner together, making small talk about missions and training. Shikachi excitedly blew out the candles on her cake and then she was being handed presents, much to her enthusiasm.

First were her parents. Passing a wrapped box, they smiled down at her. Eagerly, she ripped at the paper to reveal a weapons set. It held mostly kunai but also ninja wire and explosive notes. 

“Thank you, my kunai were getting a little dull.” she said sheepishly, ignoring Kakashi’s grumbles of _you’re supposed to_ **_sharpen_ ** _your weapons you idiot._ Sighing, he dumped a soft package in her lap and looked at her expectantly. Tearing the meticulously wrapped gift, she withdrew out a large hoodie. It was the Konoha dark blue and over twice her size. Pulling it over her head, it fell to her mid thigh, drowning her in the fleecy fabric.

“For when you’re napping.” he explained, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. She burrowed her face into it with a smile.

“I love it. It’s gonna be great for sleeping in.” she said. 

“My turn, my turn!” Shisui barreled his way in, holding out a card to her. Opening it curiously, she snorted at the message on the front. _You’re so electric._ Inside the card held a few slips of paper. Picking them up, she squealed and engulfed Shisui in a soul crushing hug.

“Thank you so much!” she exclaimed, releasing him to hop from side to side, still gripping the papers tightly.

“What is it?” Yoshino asked, trying to peer over her daughter’s shoulder to get a look. 

She rounded on them excitedly, “They’re coupons for my favourite Mango Shaved Ice stand!!” she waved them around before hugging Shisui again for good measure. 

Once she’d calmed down enough to take a seat again, Mikoto handed her a bundle of cloth. Taking it, she felt up the material. There was obviously something inside. Slowly, she unfolded it to reveal twin knives. They were a beautiful black steel with forest green lining the handle. Next to the knives was a rig, sleek black kydex that would be strapped to her thighs. Whilst leather rigs looked nicer, they were less durable and were harder to maintain. 

Her sensei smiled, “It’s about time you got your own pair. I’ll help you fit the rig properly later.” she said. Shikachi squealed and reached up to hug Mikoto, pulling her in by the neck.

“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” Mikoto chuckled. Shikachi stared at the knives with a gleam in her eye, eager to try them out. 

Eventually, everyone left and her parents sat her down for one last gift. They handed her a small box.

“It’s a little late, but we wanted to give this to you.” Yoshino said vaguely. She opened it and inside sat two silver barbell earrings. 

“For making chunin.” Shikaku said. Taking a breath, she thanked them before putting them in. She ignored the vice telling her she’d have a new pair by the end of the year. 

* * *

After that, she fell into an easy routine of shifts in cryptology, missions and training. She saw less and less of Shisui over the coming months, both of them being too busy to see each other. Slowly, rumors of a budding Lightning Specialist became more well circulated, and she was being requested for missions with her skillset more and more, despite her age. 

The Third Shinobi War ended on 14th September, signalled by the Armistice signed between Iwa and Konoha. Kumo had already begun to back off from their borders months prior. Most ninja across the continent had deduced it had come with the appointment of the Fourth Raikage, A.

With the war over with, many active duty ninja had chosen to go back into retirement, Mikoto amongst them. The woman had explained after questioning from Shisui and Shikachi that she was only serving on the active roster for the duration of the war. That she was happy to finally lay down her weapons and retire peacefully. Well, as peacefully as one could as the Uchiha Matriarch. 

On 1st November, Namikaze Minato was appointed at the Fourth Hokage of Konohagakure, the youngest Hokage in history. The whole village rejoiced, lights and laughter filling the streets for a week leading up to the ceremony. Shikachi watched the processions with a keen eye, sitting next to Shisui on a grassy hill away from the bulk of the crowds.

“It’s smart.” she commented. Shisui yawned, falling onto his back and staring at the stars tiredly.

“What is?” he asked. 

“The timing of the appointment.” she said quietly, joining him in his star gazing. He hummed questioningly, “It keeps morale up for civilians and ninja- distracts them from the losses of the war.” 

“You think too much.” Shisui murmured, “Just enjoy it for one night will you?” he sighed, pointing to the sky, “Look, that one looks like a dog.” 

“That’s the Canis Major constellation, Shisui.” she stated boredly. Huffing, he slapped her stomach lightly.

“It’s a _dog._ ” he pouted. She rolled her eyes playfully.

“Yes Shisui.” she agreed placidly. 

* * *

The following morning, Shikachi and Shisui were eating breakfast in Mikoto’s house, leeching off of Fugaku’s food happily. Itachi was sat on Mikoto’s lap, eating his toast quietly. 

“I have an announcement to make.” Mikoto said, drawing the attention of the table. Fugaku smiled at her, taking her hand in his in a gentle squeeze, “I’m pregnant.” 

The table rejoiced, rounds of _congratulations_ coming from Shisui and Shikachi, Itachi repeating the words, slightly confused as to what the good news was. 

After that, Winter hit Konoha in full force, covering the ground in snow, a foot deep in the worst places. Shikachi enjoyed Yule; and Christmas a few days later, the Solstice landing on December 22nd that year. Whilst she loved the Ino-Shika-Cho meal- and her family- there was something about Yule that she felt she connected with on a deeper level. The thoughts didn’t bother her much, happy to embrace both religions. 

In January, she was sat down at her own kitchen table, her parents looking back at her seriously.

“Shikachi, we have some important news to tell you.” Shikaku began. He wrapped his arm around his wife, pulling her into his side gently.

“I’m pregnant.” The brief feeling of déjà vu was quickly replaced by the jubilation of the news. She jumped up excitedly. 

“Oh my go-” a stern look from the pair of them had her changing her words, “-sh! I’m gonna be a big sister?!” she asked excitedly. 

“That’s right. We think they’re due around August but it’s still early days.” she said. Shikachi squealed, hugging both her parents simultaneously.

“I’m so excited!” 

* * *

  
Everything in Shikachi’s life began to settle after that. With the appointment of the new Hokage, the village had flourished, looking livelier than ever. The economy was booming as more people relocated to the village for trade. 

Her eighth birthday was spent with her parents, Mikoto, Shisui and Kakashi (who only stayed for twenty minutes before performing his famous vanishing act). The Jonin had been absent from her life ever since Namikaze’s appointment, only showing up every two or three months to take her out for food and a training session. Still, his present was as thoughtful as ever. A pair of fluffy socks to keep her feet warm, a sly jab at her always putting her cold feet on him when they hung out together. 

Still riding the wave of positivity from her birthday, she thought nothing of a summons to the Hokage, expecting another mission. Walking into the office, she saw Shisui standing to attention. Behind the Hokage stood her father and on the desk sat two scrolls. She joined Shisui, bowing to her leader with a murmur of _Hokage-sama._ The man smiled at them, although it looked kind of pained if you asked Shikachi. No one asked. 

“Uchiha Shisui, I have summoned you here to reward you for your exemplary field work and impeccable missions record. In acknowledgement of your contribution to the village, I present to you the rank of Tokubetsu Jonin as a Genjutsu Specialist of Konohagakure.” he said. Shikachi remained still as Shisui bowed and took his certificate, leaving the room at his dismissal. She stood straighter as Namikaze honed in on her.

“Nara Shikachi,” he started, her eyes locked onto the identical scroll on his desk, “I have summoned you here to reward you for your exemplary field work, exceptional leadership skills, impressive missions record and broad skill set. For these reasons, I award you the rank of Tokubetsu Jonin as the only Lightning Specialist of Konohagakure.” she came forward numbly, taking the proffered scroll and bowing respectfully. Taking a glance at her father, all she saw was pride. 

* * *

News of their rise in the rank spread like wildfire. _Youngest Jonin in history._ They said. _Lightning Specialist? About time._ They grumbled. It wasn’t often discussed but everyone knew that Hatake Sakumo was the village’s last true Lightning Specialist- and he’d been dead for nearly ten years already. The most common thing to be heard was _they beat Hatake. By four years._ If Kakashi was regarded as a prodigy, what did that make her?

She found herself spending less and less time in Intel and more out in the field. Returning from an assassination in Grass country, she rushed to the hospital at the news. 

Mikoto was in labour.

Arriving to the correct room, she found Shisui pacing outside the door with a sleepy Itachi watching from the comfort of a plastic chair.

“I’m not too late, am I?” she asked, taking a seat next to Itachi, ruffling his hair. Shisui breathed out a sigh of relief.

“No, she’s been in labour for ten hours already.” he said. She saw the lines of exhaustion marring his face. Shrugging, she slouched in her chair.

“Some women take up to twenty-four hours to give birth.” she said, watching as Shisui deflated.

“Not helpful, Shikachi.” he scowled, throwing himself into the seat on Itachi’s other side.

“Just relax, she’s in the best place possible.” she said, yawning. Leaning her head back, she fell into a light snooze.

Five hours later, a woman came out of the room, smiling. Shisui shot up, shaking Shikachi awake roughly as she passed through the doorway. She jerked into consciousness.

“It’s a boy.” Shisui jumped up, ready to barrel into the room but Shikachi caught the back of his shirt sharply.

“Are we allowed to go in?” she asked, giving Shisui a meaningful glare. 

“Go ahead.” she said. Letting go of his shirt, Shikachi took Itachi’s hand and followed Shisui in. Mikoto was lying on the bed, cradling a baby to her bare chest.

“What’s his name?” Shisui asked. Mikoto smiled down at the child in her arms.

“Sasuke.”

* * *

Two months later and Shikachi was sitting in the same plastic chair, her own mother giving birth. It was only six hours into the labour. Kakashi had found her an hour ago, handing her a sandwich and a bottle of water before disappearing. The remnants of her meal sat on the chair beside her, too lazy to go in search of a nearby bin. 

Breathing in tiredly, she listened to the footsteps coming from inside the room, closer and closer to the door. It swung open abruptly, a different nurse coming out. She, too, smiled, which Shikachi took as a good sign. 

“It’s a boy. You’re free to go in.” she said, walking away, fatigue pinching at her shoulders. Taking one last breath, she entered and stood next to the bed. Yoshino smiled at her, holding the bundle close.

“Shikachi, meet your little brother, Shikamaru.” she smiled down at the boy. She was a big sister. 

* * *

She woke up to the blare of alarms. Civilians, Genin were to evacuate to the tunnels beneath the Hokage Mountain. Shooting out of bed, she grabbed her weapons, securing her rig in under thirty seconds. Making it downstairs, she found Yoshino holding Shikamaru and her father pulling on his Jonin vest. 

“Shikachi, escort your mother to the tunnels then guard the entrance.” Shikaku barked. Zipping up her own vest, she nodded and let her mother lead the way.

“Yes Sir.” She made sure both Yoshino and Mikoto were safe inside the tunnels before stationing herself outside the entrance, weapons drawn. She watched from a distance as a massive figure rose out of the sky. It crushed all below it and caused the ground to rumble beneath her feet. It took every ounce of her training to hold her kunai still. She had to trust the Hokage, trust that her father would come back alive.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shisui: It's a dOG  
> Shikachi: Actually the scientific name is-  
> Shisui: DOG


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More on Kakashi and Shikachi

The chakra in the air was the most oppressive, foul thing she had ever felt. It seeped into every fibre of her being and ratted her from the inside out. Keeping a tight hold on her chakra, she pooled her shadows at her feet in slow swirls of black. 

At some point in the night, a team of ANBU had come and stood in front of her and the other cluster of Jonin guarding their entrance. They hadn’t spoken a word since their arrival, but Shikachi felt focussing on the white-armoured back of the one closest to her helped put her at ease. 

The sun rose and the rumbling and trembling of the ground died out. Blinking at the horizon, she realised the giant figure in the sky was no longer there. She must’ve been more out of it than she realised.

Another siren rang out across the deserted village, a constant tone that had no pauses, signalling the end of the lockdown. Shikachi relaxed minutely and moved away from the entrance so one of the ANBU could open it. She watched with exacting eyes as she searched for her mother and sensei in the crowd. After ten minutes, she found the pair of them talking in hushed whispers as they followed the rest of the civilians out of the shelter. Jumping down from her perch, she landed in front of her mother. 

“Shikachi!” Yoshino rushed up to her, Mikoto half step behind, “Are you okay?” She asked, searching her daughter's body for injuries. Stifling a sob, she engulfed her mother around the waist, careful of little Shikamaru still in her arms.

“I’m fine.” Came the muffled reply. She pulled away to search their faces, “Are you both okay?” They smiled at her, putting her at ease at the drop of a hat.

“We’re good, all uninjured on this side.” Mikoto said. Shikachi looked from her mother to her sensei, and then to Itachi at her side, cradling Sasuke gently. Yoshino quirked a smile, stroking her daughter’s head affectionately.

“Little Sasuke slept through the whole thing once we got inside.” Her mother said. Mikoto’s smile faded into a thin line, catching her attention.

“You should go to the Tower. You need to be debriefed.” She said, protocols finally coming back to her. Shikachi went to protest but her mother cut her off.

“Go. We’ll be fine.” Shikachi searched Yoshino’s face one more time before nodding and taking to the rooftops. 

Arriving at the Hokage Tower, she found Genma with a cluster of Jonin. 

“Genma!” She called, saddling up beside him seriously, “What’s going on?” Genma smiled at her shakily.

“The Commander’s about to announce what the plan is.” He said and looked to the front of the room. Following his line of sight, she saw her father, face hardened and completely unreadable. He cleared his throat and the room was reduced to silence. 

“Earth, Water and Wind Specialists, please go to Training Ground One where you’ll be assigned to in-village clean up. Fire Specialists, please go to Training Ground Two, you’ll be split into different subdivisions there. All other ninja, please form an orderly line at the missions desk.” He said before leaving the room. Shikachi felt an arm loop itself around her shoulders. Looking up, she saw a grinning Genma.

“Guess you’re with me, shorty.” He said. Squawking, she let him guide them to the missions desk. They joined the line and, after fifteen minutes, they were finally inside the room itself, if only clearing the doorframe. 

Shikachi peeked around Genma’s shoulder to stare at the piles of scrolls on the desks, each adorned with different colours. A feeling of dread came over her. There were various groupings of scrolls, mixed in colour, meaning they weren’t organised by rank, but by speciality. Taking note of the colours, she counted orange, red and black. The black was new. Shikachi guessed it must’ve been the infamous S-rank that she had yet to encounter.

Genma reached the front of the line and she listened with keen ears to the conversation.

“Rank?” The desk-nin barked. 

“Tokujo.” Genma rattled off instantly, voice unhindered by his senbon still between his lips.

“Speciality?” Came the next one-word question.

“Poison.” He answered easily. The person behind the desk muttered nothings under their breath as they searched the piles, going to the far left desk and picking up a red-rimmed scroll. Genma took the proffered item and then she was at the front of the queue, staring down a grumpy desk-nin. 

“Rank?” The woman asked. 

“Tokubetsu.” She answered, palms a little sweaty as the other nin assessed her. 

“Speciality?” They questioned, clearly a little suspicious but not questioning it. 

“Lightning.” She stated confidently. The desk-nin’s eyes lit up and they went over to the far right pile, only containing black-rimmed scrolls.

“You’re going to be in high demand, kid. Brace yourself.” She warned as she handed over the scroll. Shikachi took the scroll but the woman held onto the other end.

“Special instructions in this one. Find Hatake Kakashi, he’ll be your tracker.” She said ominously before letting go. Shikachi eyed the scroll as she made her way out, watching out the corner of her eye as older Jonin winced at the colour. She heard mutterings of  _ are they  _ **_trying_ ** _ to kill the kid?  _ and did her best to swallow the need to throw up as she surveyed the village. 

Find Kakashi. 

She thought of the places he could be and bit her lip. His apartment, unlikely. The memorial stone? Perhaps, but not exactly appropriate right now. Clearly not the missions desk. The Jonin lounge? 

She decided to check the Jonin lounge first. Walking in, she saw Jonin rushing around everywhere, but no Kakashi. Frowning, she left, going to check the memorial stone and his apartment for good measure. She knocked, but there was no reply. 

Where could he be?

She turned around to leave the building. Kakashi stood at the top of the stairs, slightly surprised. He was covered in dirt and ash and his clothes were partially ripped. 

“Shikachi? What are you doing here?” He asked. 

She held up the mission scroll in answer.

“You’re my tracker.” She said. He zeroed in on the scroll. Walking up to her, he opened it with a furrowed eyebrow. She would place his expression at disbelieving as he read the contents. Having not read it yet, it did make her curious. He snapped it shut and grabbed her hand. Unlocking his apartment, he dragged her inside before she could protest. 

“Have you read this yet?” He asked in a hushed whisper. She shook her head.

“No, why-” He held up his hand, stopping her in her tracks.

“Has anyone explained to you what being a Lightning Specialist  _ means _ ?” He stressed, waving the scroll in front of him. 

“I don’t understand.” She said, looking from the scroll to Kakashi.

“Lightning Specialists belong in assassination.” He stated, and the realisation struck her. Her father knew. Her sensei knew. All those years ago, when she first touched that chakra paper. They’ve been grooming her. She felt sick.

“I didn’t  _ ask  _ to be a Lightning Specialist.” she said weakly. In the dark light of the room, he looked so much more tired.

“I know. Which is why you’re going to file for a formal partnership with me before we leave for this mission.” He said, a finality to his tone. He turned his back to her and began changing his clothes, completely unaffected at being watched whilst he did so.

“What?  _ Why _ ?” She asked. Pulling a new shirt over his head, he turned back to her and began pulling his trousers down.

“Because I’m not going to let you get killed by the moron in the council who thinks it’s appropriate to give an eight year old an S-rank mission.” He said, slipping the new pair of trousers on and grabbing a roll of bandages to wrap up his ankles.

“But what about you?” She asked, biting her lip. Her insecurities reared their ugly head. What if he didn’t actually want to work with her? 

“What do you mean ‘what about me’?” He looked up and sighed, “Shikachi, who else would I partner up with?” He said, as if it was obvious. She hid her surprise as he pulled on his Jonin vest, having never seen him wear the garb, “Come on, I’ll help you fill it out and hand it in before we leave.” 

Shikachi watched as Kakashi haggled a desk-nin for the paperwork, despite the mans angry comments of-

“-this really isn’t the time. Have you been living under a rock?” The man glared at a determined Kakashi, who held his ground firmly, and also held up the ever growing line that was waiting for them to move. The desk-nin scoffed and dumped the pile of paper on Kakashi’s waiting hands. Said teen stormed off immediately, leaving Shikachi to bow and apologise on his behalf. 

Kakashi found an empty desk in a room over and slapped the pile of papers onto the aged wood.

“I hate paperwork.” He grumbled as he filled out the pages faster than anyone Shikachi had ever seen. 

“Don’t you need my reg number for that?” She asked, slightly concerned as he hadn’t asked her for it yet.

“Yeah.” He answered without pause. 

“...do you know it?” She asked after a second. 

He scoffed, flipping another page over. “Of course I know it.” 

She narrowed her eyes.

“Then what is it?” She tested, crossing her arms in front of her and cocking her hip.

“131909.” He rattled off easily. 

Letting her arms fall to her sides, her mouth gaped like a fish. “Wha- how do you know my reg number?” She asked. 

He rolled his eyes. “I just do. It’s not that hard. I know most people’s numbers.” He muttered. 

“I guess they don’t call you a genius for nothing.” She mumbled, watching as he made it to the last page in the pile. Ignoring her comment, he slid it over to her and handed her the pen. 

“Sign here.” He pointed to the bottom of the page. Shrugging, she scribbled her name without much thought. Kakashi collected all the papers up in a neat pile, taking his pen back swiftly.

“Should I have read that before signing it?” She asked.

“Probably.” He said. Shrugging again, she let him lead them back to the grumpy desk-nin. She trusted Kakashi. Setting the paperwork on his table quietly, they slipped back out the room before they could get in another argument. 

“Can I read the scroll now?” She asked once they’d left the building.

“Did you not read it before finding me?” He asked, single eyebrow furrowed.

“No, the woman at the missions desk said that you were my tracker for this mission so I came to find you first.” She answered easily. Schooling his surprised expression, he handed the scroll back.

“Memorise it then burn it. Meet me at the Main Gate in fifteen.” He said before vanishing in a puff of smoke. 

Arriving back at her house, she skimmed through the scroll for the first time. Her mother was somewhere upstairs, probably sleeping off the events of the night.

_ Find and eliminate the targets. _

The scroll went on to detail about a pair of Jonin they would be tailing. Earth Specialists, previously in a partnership, believed to be spies from Iwa. 

Burning the scroll, she headed upstairs to pack. She prepared for two weeks, redid her hair and left a note for her parents. She made it to the Northern Gate with a few minutes to spare. Kakashi was already there, geared up and looking like a proper Jonin, vest and all. They signed out and walked out the gate.

“Our targets will be making a beeline for Iwa. We’ll be running nonstop until we reach Grass.” Kakashi murmured. Nodding, she followed him to the trees, and they were off.

Shikachi wasn’t slow for a Jonin, but Kakashi set a brutal pace that left her breathless every time they stopped for a break. They crossed into Grass Country in two days, a record for Shikachi. Stopping in a small village just inside the border, they began their search. 

“Go find us a place to eat. I’ll ask around about our  _ problem. _ ” He ordered. Mocking a salute, she turned on her heel in search of food. Keeping her eye out for a mango shaved ice stand, she walked through the centre of the small town. She settled on a barbeque restaurant after seeing no signs of her favourite treat.

Sitting at a table near the back, she ordered two glasses of water whilst she waited for Kakashi’s return. 

Fifteen minutes after his departure, he slipped into the seat opposite her gracefully and called over a waiter. She took a sip of her water whilst he ordered for the pair of them, not speaking until the worker had left.

“Well?” She asked. 

“They passed through here two days ago. Stayed in the Kohaku Inn. I’ve sent Pakkun to try pick up a scent. We’ll eat here and then follow their trail.” He said, voice low. Ten minutes later, and they were eating grilled pork belly and rice. Kakashi left a wad of notes on their table, the exact amount their meal cost, and made a beeline for the door. They met Pakkun outside.

“I managed to get a scent,” He looked between the two ninja, “Ready to go?” Receiving twin nods, he took to the trees. The pug didn’t look back once, trusting the duo were following diligently.

From there, it was smooth sailing. The Jonin they were chasing had covered their tracks well, even doubling back and creating false trails at the correct points. Pakkun’s nose didn’t rely on tracks, thankfully. 

The pug estimated they were half a day's run from their targets when they stopped for another short break.

“We need to move Kakashi.” He warned, eyeing the rain clouds further ahead. Said summoner followed the pugs line of sight. 

“I know. We’re close to the Earth border too. We can’t let them cross.” He murmured before turning back to his partner, “Ready to go? The next time we stop will be upon contact with the targets.” He asked. Shikachi took a breath before nodding. Pakkun grunted and pushed their pace. They would beat the rain. 

It was a close call. Their targets almost crossed into Earth country. Three more miles, and their mission probably would’ve been a failure. The rogues were too focussed on making it to the border that they didn’t even notice Kakashi and the pack flanking their sides, Shikachi right at their back, ready to strike. Between one second and the next, twin wolves were barreling through the trees and ripping through the pair ahead. They fell through the foliage, backs snapping against the bark with nothing to cushion their fall. If the lightning didn’t kill them, the landing certainly made sure of it. Shikachi held back a wince as they hit the ground with a resounding  _ thump.  _

Kakashi touched down first, assessing their vitals clinically before proclaiming them dead. He ripped their dog tags from their necks and stuffed them in his pouch, not daring to look at the names. It was easier if he didn’t know. 

Shikachi landed beside him and made the hand signs for Snake then Tiger, letting a steady flame emit from her lips. They waited until the bodies were burned to ash. For good measure, Kakashi used a wind jutsu to scatter the remains. 

“Ready to head back?” Kakashi murmured, taking stock of his partner. 

Shikachi nodded, feeling the fatigue from the past few days finally catch up to her. 

“Yeah. Can we stop somewhere over night this time?” She half-whined. 

He snorted and took to the trees, Pakkun following close behind. “Maybe.” He teased. With a growl, she chased after him, matching his pace easily in her anger. 

“Hatake Kakashi I swear to God if we don’t stop in a town I will walk myself over that border.” She snarled. Pakkun barked a laugh at Kakashi’s grumbling.

“Fine, fine.” He rolled his eye playfully and pushed himself ahead of her by a couple steps, “Come on then.” He sighed, looking skyward in mock exasperation. 

They went at a slower pace on the way back, taking their time in each town to try some of the local food. A necessary venture, according to Shikachi. Pakkun agreed. They made it back to the village a week later. Shikachi was anticipating the reprieve she would be getting from Kakashi, starting to get tired of his opinions on her fitness. 

They signed in at the Northern Gate with no trouble and made their way to the Hokage tower. Kakashi had explained to her that you had to debrief with the Hokage (or whoever was standing in, in the meantime), when returning from an S-rank. Protocol, he said. 

“I’ll let you do the talking.” She snarked once they were past the gates. He rolled his eye but shouldered the responsibility without a word. 

Arriving at the ever familiar office, they entered to find the Third Hokage sitting behind the desk, kitted out in full regalia. They bowed to the man with murmurs of  _ Hokage-sama.  _ Kakashi walked up to the man’s desk, placing the pair of dog tags on the oak wood, the chains rattling in the quiet of the room. 

“Targets successfully eliminated by Nara Shikachi.” He stated, returning to his partner’s side. 

The Hokage took a drag of his pipe. “Any witnesses?” He questioned.

“No, Hokage-sama.” Kakashi replied confidently. The pack would’ve detected anyone watching them. 

“Status?” He rumbled. 

“No injuries. Shikachi is tired from the journey, however, and would benefit from a day's rest before taking any more missions.” Kakashi said, clearly trying to delay the inevitable S-rank to follow. 

The old man nodded. “As expected,” He said, breathing out another lungful of smoke, “I’ve been informed the pair of you have entered into a formal partnership?” He stated more than asked. 

Shikachi answered this time.

“Yes, Hokage-sama. We believe our skill sets compliment each other nicely, and we know each other's styles from training together. So there’s no transition phase seen in some other newly formed partnerships.” She said confidently. She could do logic, and their partnership was supported by tonnes of it.

The Hokage took a moment to assess them before nodding in acquiesce. 

“I trust you know each other well enough for it to work effectively,” He commented, “Take tomorrow off, then I want you both back here for your next mission.” He ordered. Shikachi bowed, but Kakashi did not.

“Hokage-sama, could I speak to you privately, please?” He asked. Taking her cue, Shikachi made her way out of the office. She had a date with her bed that was two weeks overdue. 

“Kakashi-kun? What is it you wanted to speak about?” The Hokage asked, making a hand gesture that had the room clearing of the ANBU hidden in the alcove behind his desk. The silencing seals activated, and they were alone.

“Hokage-sama, with all due respect, I think it’s grossly inappropriate for Shikachi to be going on S-rank missions.” He said boldly. 

The man puffed out another billow of smoke.

“You’ll have to take that up with her father,” he started, “He was the one to suggest it.” 

* * *

Shikachi stifled a yawn as she kicked her shoes off in the genkan. Making her way to the lounge, she found her mother breastfeeding Shikamaru.

“Shikachi.” She breathed in relief. Said girl took in the tired lines of her mother’s face and smiled reassuringly. She slumped next to her mother, leaning into her side only partially.

“How’s little Shika?” She murmured, stroking his head with a singular finger. 

“A true Nara. Loves to sleep.” Yoshino said, mirth clear in her tone. Shikachi hummed and Shikamaru finally stopped feeding.

“Was I like that?” She asked curiously, tilting her head to look at her mother’s face better.

Yoshino barked a laugh, careful not to jostle Shikamaru. “You were a  _ menace _ .” She declared. 

Shikachi rolled her eyes. “Can I take him?” She asked, reaching out. 

Her mother smiled gently.

“Of course,” she handed him over easily enough, patting her daughter’s knee as she stood, “I’m going to go lie down.” She walked away, leaving Shikachi to admire her brother’s sleeping face. 

“Come on, it’s about time I showed you how a real Nara naps.” She whispered to him. Carrying him as she stood, she walked them up the stairs and set him next to her on her bed. 

* * *

Waking up was disorientating. First of all, Shikamaru was no longer beside her, an empty indent where he used to be. Secondly, Shikachi was so groggy, she honestly forgot where she was. Thirdly, there was someone downstairs who was making no attempt to hide their presence, if the  _ bang _ and  _ crash _ of pots and pans were anything to go by. 

Groaning, she sat up and looked down at her person. She was still in the clothes she’d been wearing from her last mission, and she was in desperate need of a shower. Slowly, she stripped down to nothing and made her way blindly to the shower. 

The water ran diluted black and brown as she wiped the dirt from her tired body. She pulled her hair back into a bun once it was clean, not wanting the dripping strands to get her wet. She pulled on her fluffy socks and hoodie, both gifts from Kakashi, along with a baggy pair of trousers. 

Finally, she made her way to the kitchen, feeling much more alert now. Her mother was sat at the table, entertaining Shikamaru, whilst her father was cooking something over the stove. He turned to her with a tired smile.

“How’d the mission go?” He asked. She yawned, throwing herself into a seat opposite her mother.

“Success, in the end. Was a close call though. Ugh, I hate running.” She grumbled, still wiping sleepy dust from her eyes. 

Shikaku snorted at the non-answer and began dishing up dinner. 

“Glad to hear it,” he set three bowls on the table and joined them, “So, you and Kakashi, huh?” He pried. Shikachi hummed.

“Yeah, Kakashi really wanted us to partner up. I trust him,” she said easily, taking a bite of the hotpot and moaning into her chopsticks. She swallowed and looked between her parents, “What did I miss while I was gone?” She asked.

“The Fourth Hokage, and his wife, Kushina, died in the attack. The Third Hokage has assumed leadership whilst the village recovers. Multiple residential districts were destroyed, along with the academy and two of the medical clinics. It’ll be another three months before they’re rebuilt. The influx of missions has slowed down, but only marginally,” he paused briefly, “I would expect a promotion before the year is out.” He warned. She froze. She’d only just been made Tokujo five months ago. 

“But, I’m not ready for that.” She argued, chopsticks creaking in her whiteknuckled grip. 

“A few more missions with Kakashi, and you will be.” He said, ending the conversation. She swallowed the snapping reply on the tip of her tongue and took another bite of her food. 

She slept restlessly that night.

* * *

Shikachi woke up feeling much more refreshed than the last time. She got ready for the day at a leisurely pace, prepared to enjoy her day off. Forgoing her usual outfit, she pulled on a fresh pair of baggy trousers, a skin tight T-shirt and pulled her hoodie she’d been sleeping in back over her head uncaringly. Her knives were a familiar weight against her thighs. She wrapped her ankles and attached her kunai pouch before leaving the house. 

Making a beeline for her destination, she grinned as she rounded the corner which held her favourite stand. She faltered as she came to where it used to be. 

Finding someone close by, she caught their attention, “Excuse me,” she called. Once she had their attention, she continued, “Do you know what happened to the mango shaved ice stand?” She asked, pointing in its general direction.

“You don’t know?” The man asked. 

She shook her head, “I was sent out the morning of the attack. It’s my first day back.” She explained. 

The man relaxed at the admission.

“It got destroyed. The owners said they wouldn’t be able to rebuild. They were migrants from Kumo- headed back a few days after it was destroyed.” He said. Shikachi felt tears make themselves known between her eyelids. 

“Thank you for telling me.” She said quickly, bowing for good measure before racing out of the district. With a sniffle, she made her way to the Uchiha compound, mood dampened now. Not bothering to knock, she let herself in the front door of the Main House, carefully placing her sandals in the genkan. 

“Mikoto-sensei?” She called. 

“Shikachi?” Came a slightly confused reply. Following the voice, she found her sensei in the kitchen, Itachi, Sasuke and Fugaku at the table. She smiled to the family, easily taking a seat. Her sensei rounded on her, looking her up and down for any injuries before sighing in relief. 

“Thank God you’re okay. When I heard you’d been given-” She cut herself off, “-are you hungry?” She asked instead. 

Shikachi grinned.

“Starving.” Mikoto dished up the food, miso soup, rice and grilled fish. She did her best to eat politely, aware she wasn’t  _ actually  _ in her own home. Fugaku spent most of the meal talking with Itachi, asking him what he was learning at the academy. Shikachi listened curiously as he detailed the history of the shinobi nations, their current topic. 

She furrowed her eyebrows, “Wasn’t the academy destroyed?” She asked, looking between the adults at the table. 

“I apologise, I forgot you’ve been absent since the attack. They’ve moved the classes to the rooms we normally use for debriefing in the Hokage Tower and the practicals take place in the training grounds nearby.” Fugaku explained. She nodded, finishing her food. 

“That makes sense,” she paused, “do they know what caused it?” She asked. 

Mikoto and Fugaku exchanged glances. 

“The seal is weakened during childbirth,” her sensei began, “however, there is mounting suspicion against the Uchiha.” She murmured, flashing her sharingan for half a second. 

Shikachi scoffed. “They would suspect a founding clan.” She muttered. 

“The villagers are scared. It’s easier for them to find someone else to blame then face their own grief.” Fugaku said diplomatically. 

She huffed. “And what of the Kyuubi?” She asked. The Uchiha Patriarch was unreadable.

“Classified.” He said stiffly. She nodded understandingly.

“That makes sense.” She accepted his answer gracefully. 

Fugaku relaxed when she didn’t push him for more information. She turned back to Mikoto.

“Is Shisui okay? I haven’t seen him yet.” She asked. Mikoto smiled.

“He’s doing fine. He’s been helping out with the police force and taking shifts on the wall.” She answered. Shikachi relaxed at the news. At least one of them wasn’t being sent on S-ranks. 

“That’s good,” she breathed, “The Hokage,” she started, “Is there another candidate?” She asked, not as well versed in that area of politics as she probably should be. 

“Not that we’re aware of. There’s your father, but he rejected the position last time it was offered to him. Apart from him, there really isn’t anyone currently.” Mikoto answered, standing and collecting their plates. 

“Is there anyone they’re watching?” She asked, handing her plate over. Mikoto kept her mouth firmly shut, not willing to divulge that information. Fugaku was. 

“Hatake,” he started, “you, The Third’s son- Asuma and  Shiranui -tentatively.” He listed.

“ _ Me? _ ” She asked, startled at her name being in the mix. Mikoto winced.

“You’re currently at the bottom of the list due to your age,” he admitted, “but yes,  _ you. _ ” 

“How do I get  _ off _ the list?” Mikoto looked up in thought.

“Be the last of the four to land in the Bingo Book- and don’t have A or S-rank attached to your name.” She answered. Shikachi sweatdropped, trying to weigh up the chances of Genma ending up in it before she did, Kakashi and Asuma having already gotten entries just by association. Genma had studied under the Fourth, but apart from that he really wasn’t known for anything. Meanwhile, she was the heir to the Nara clan, and the daughter of the Jonin Commander. 

So, in essence, it was hopeless. 

* * *

  
She found Kakashi training an hour after she left the Uchiha compound. He was practicing katas with his Tanto when she dropped into the clearing. 

“Hey,” she called, waiting for him to turn to her before continuing, “I’m hungry, can I eat at your place?” She asked innocently. 

Raising a singular eyebrow, he sheathed his blade. “Sure.” He acquiesced, leading them at a leisurely pace to his little apartment. 

Once inside, they checked all the windows and doors before squeezing into the small bathroom and turning the shower on, the running water helping to hide their conversation.

“What is it?” He murmured, sharingan on full show, scanning around them.

“Did you know we’re both on the list of Hokage candidates?” She hissed. 

He hummed. “I knew I was on it. You’re a new addition. Welcome to the club.” He snarked. She slapped his chest lightly. 

“Kakashi I’m eight!” She growled.

“And in ten years you’ll be eighteen.” She scowled and he sighed. “Look, they’ll push for your father first,” he started, “and when he rejects the offer- again-” he muttered, “they’ll look to Asuma and then me.” 

She eyed him suspiciously, “Do you have a plan for avoiding the position?” She asked.

He nodded. 

“ANBU.” 

* * *

  
They were leaving at dawn the next day, another S-rank assassination. The scroll was nearly identical to the previous one, just different names and faces. Shikachi thought, during the monotony of another run, that they were more like Hunter-nin than assassins- sent to take down rouges and escaped prisoners of war. 

Their missions were often given back to back. On one such occasion, Shikachi was informed that she’d been promoted to full Jonin during her absence. She didn’t get to spend Christmas in Konoha that year. 

Over the course of the following year, both she and Kakashi pushed their training, trying to prepare themselves for ANBU. Shikachi had argued that she was too young to enter the organisation- had expressed concerns that he would leave her behind. He had snorted in response.

“Shikachi, I’ve been in ANBU since I was thirteen,” and didn’t that feel so long ago? Only a year had passed since then, “I spoke with the ANBU Commander during my time there. He said he’d wait for me.” He’d said. He didn’t mention that the same Commander had approached  _ him  _ about bringing the Nara into the ranks. She didn’t need to know. 

* * *

  
Shikachi was a Nara, through and through, though- full of questions. Kakashi was patient, answering every single one with the same attention to detail that she asked them. One such question had been-

“-why did the Hokage allow our partnership?” Because, although shinobi partnerships were mostly up to the participants involved, the Hokage had the final say. If he deemed the match unsuitable, or a waste of resources, then he could have denied their request. As it was, it seemed those higher up were actively encouraging their duo.

Kakashi looked at her intently as he spoke, “Do you know who the last Lightning Specialist was?” He asked. When she didn’t answer after a minute, he offered her a name she’d only heard in passing, “Hatake Sakumo, my father.” She looked at him differently then. 

“The village wants another Lightning Specialist.” She stated, the conclusion clear as day. 

He nodded, eye pinching into a crescent.

“That they do,” he started, “you’d think, after decades of ninja, they would understand that elemental specialists aren’t trained. They’re born.” He said, sarcasm dripping from his tone. 

“If they think you’ve miraculously become a Lightning Specialist, they’ll terminate our partnership, won’t they?” She asked, already knowing the answer.  _ Waste of resources.  _ It was the same reason two medics were never placed on the same team. Konoha didn’t like having all their eggs in one basket. 

“We’ll just have to string them along until we can get you into ANBU.” Kakashi murmured into the dead of the redwoods, just outside the walls of the village. 

* * *

  
She spent her ninth birthday staking out a target in the swamps of Waterfall Country, buried belly down in the mud. Kakashi was opposite her in the clearing. They’d received intel that their target would be passing through the clearing between them. It was a sound prediction. No rational shinobi wandered through those forests without following the most direct paths. 

Kakashi and Shikachi were probably clinically insane by that measurement, having trekked through the waist deep sludge and followed one of the minor rivers, walking the remaining three miles to their destination amongst the thick fog that had rolled in with the morning dew. 

It was in the eighth hour of smelling all nature had to offer that their target finally passed through the clearing, which had the major river cutting through its centre. The man stopped to collect some water, and that’s when they struck. 

It was laughably easy at that point. Their target was clearly tired from the journey. Kakashi broke his cover first, dashing in and clashing kunai with a horrid screech. Shikachi fought her grin as she formed hand signs.

_ Rat-snake-dog _

He was trapped with Shikachi’s Twin Wolves Jutsu to his back and Kakashi to his front. In a last ditch attempt, he threw himself to the side, diving head first into the river. Her wolves snarled, following diligently and dispersing in the water, electrocuting everything in the water, including their target. The man floated to the surface and Kakashi fished him out with some ninja wire. 

“Great. He’s soaked. How are we supposed to burn the body now?” her partner grumbled, ripping the corpse’s dog tags off for good measure. 

Shikachi shrugged. “Wait for him to dry?” She offered. 

He tisked, scanning the area.

“There’s too much moisture in the air. Someone else would sooner pass through here.” He murmured. 

“Then we bury him,” She concluded easily, grabbing at the dead man’s ankles with a grimace, “come on, the muds really soft, it'll be fast.” She said, gesturing to the man’s torso. With a sigh, Kakashi hooked his hands in the man’s armpits, lifting the body a few inches off the ground. 

They carried him deep in the trees, putting him down on a patch of mud that seemed more water than dirt. Kakashi performed an earth jutsu- some variant of the Headhunter Jutsu and the body was absorbed by the ground. 

“Let’s get out of here. I’m sick of this mud.” He grumbled. She agreed wholeheartedly; they would need at  _ least  _ three showers to get all the dirt off. 

* * *

Kakashi turned fifteen the following September. Shikachi grumbled the whole time-  _ favouritism _ . She’d mumbled when the Hokage had given them the day off for the occasion. Where was her holiday when they were in the middle that wretched swamp? 

Social norms dictated that she should give Kakashi a present for his birthday, but they hadn’t had time for shopping. So, she stole one of his sweatshirts and gave him her company instead. She thought it was a fair trade.

They enjoyed the day by sleeping in Kakashi’s apartment, surrounded by the pack. They’d had whispered discussions about current affairs between bites of dumplings.

Asuma had joined the Guardian Twelve, ergo, he was out of the running for Hokage. That left him, her and Genma. Shikachi had yet to land herself in the Bingo Book, but they were published every January. Only time would tell if word had gotten out about their partnership, and her technique. 

Word had, inevitably, spread about the pair of them. They were an odd duo. Nine and Fifteen, and the closest thing Konoha had to a hunter squad. 

Shikamaru would turn one a week after Kakashi’s birthday, and she already knew she wouldn’t be in the village for it. No doubt they were going out again the following day, another S-rank. She’d lost count of how many they’d taken; it was all they did anymore. Honestly, she didn’t want to know. 

She’d left Kakashi’s apartment around 8 pm, returning to her home to wish Shikamaru an early birthday in soft whispers, content to watch him sleep. 

They wouldn’t be back for another three weeks after that, staying in the village for all of two hours before heading back out. She was thankful for the nonexistent break for once. She didn’t think Kakashi wanted to be in the village for October 10th. 

* * *

On the cusp of her tenth birthday, she was split up from Kakashi. He’d been requested as a tracker for another mission and, since she was available, she’d been asked to join on a different mission as a Lightning Specialist.

She didn’t have any resounding bad feelings about the mission itself. It was a typical A-rank. Pursue the target and bring them back to Konoha- alive- as they had valuable information. Her teammates were Daisuke and Kousuke, whom she had worked with before on multiple occasions. Daisuke was the leader for the mission. 

He had mapped out their path and both Shikachi and Kousuke had agreed with his assessment. The route made sense; would cut down time and had the highest possibility of intercepting the target. 

They left just as a storm was rolling in, hoping to beat the rain. It felt like the clouds had followed them all the way to Grass Country, grey overhead the whole way, an oppressive air weighing down on them the further into the plains they went. 

Shikachi never liked Grass. It was too flat and too hilly all at once. As the name depicted, it was a place that held grass plains for miles. Since it bordered on Iwa, the rocky terrain got worse the further North you went. The lack of cover made her anxious. They made it to a small grouping of trees, not nearly enough to be considered a forest, but it was something. 

She should’ve known it was a trap. 

How convenient, trees, in the middle of Grass Country. The perfect place to prey on little Leaf Nin. 

He came out of the trees leisurely. 

“Orochimaru.” Daisuke growled, facing the man and shielding Shikachi in one smooth motion. 

“Fancy seeing you out here, so far from home.” The snake purred, a smile full of too sharp teeth. Kousuke tensed, joining Daisuke. She watched with wide eyes as both men exchanged a short lived glance before removing their dog tags, chucking them in her general direction. Catching both easily, she looked at their backs in horror. 

“Shikachi, run.” Kousuke ordered. 

“B-but-” 

“Run Goddammit!” Daisuke shouted, looking back at her with wild, pleading eyes.

And she ran. 

Pocketing the dog tags, she pushed her legs as fast as they would go. It was a slaughter, both Jonin lasting ten seconds combined before Orochimaru was tailing her. No amount of evasion training could have prepared her for that. 

He gave chase for hours, just metres behind her at every step. It was suffocating- knowing he would catch up. Still, she didn’t stop. Holding her pace for eight hours before she faltered, her feet dragged against the ground and sent her careening into the dirt, just across the Fire country border. 

He was on her in an instant, licking his lips as he eyed her. 

“Such a little wolf.” He purred. Her shadows lashed out on instinct. He jumped away before they could pierce him, regarding her with the utmost intrigue. She licked at dry lips, bringing her hands together instinctively.

“Stay away!” She screamed. Her hands moved by themselves, chakra swirling and sparking, round and round. 

Twin wolves roared, the biggest she’d ever made them and went after her attacker, faster than they’d ever moved before. He dodged, making her attack look like child's play. Dancing around her wolves as if they were puppies, he observed with a critical eye. She called it off before it drained anymore of her chakra. Pooling her shadows at her feet, she controlled her breathing as he got closer. 

“Run, little wolf.” He grinned, stopping just a few metres from her. She paused, not trusting to turn her back on him, “Go, before I change my mind.” 

And she ran.

* * *

In hindsight, the gate guards really needed to be more alert. She contemplated later. 

She’d barreled through the Western Gate, not stopping until she made it to the Hokage’s office. Feeling sick, she knocked. It was probably unnecessary at that point, with the way she had arrived. 

“Come in.” The old man called. Taking a deep breath, she walked in. She bowed before pulling out Daisuke and Kousuke’s dog tags, placing them on the desk gently. Taking a few steps back, she looked just over the man’s shoulder, standing to attention.

“Jonin Nara Shikachi reporting mission failed.” She started. Taking another breath, she continued, “We made it about fifteen miles from the Iwa-Grass border when we were intercepted by Orochimaru. Daisuke and Kousuke were killed immediately, giving me orders to run,” she swallowed, holding back tears, “He chased me for eight hours, before we had a short interaction.” Another pause. “He let me go.” 

The Hokage put his pipe down, staring at the dog tags grimly. 

“Return their dog tags to their next of kin, and then you’re relieved of duty for two weeks.” He ordered, sighing. Taking the tags, she bowed stiffly before walking out. 

The walk to the administration building was difficult. Still, it was her duty to inform their next of kin, as the last person to have seen both men and their teammate. Steeling herself, she handed the dog tags over at the desk, waiting five minutes whilst the ninja went looking for their files. The woman handed them over and she took a breath before opening them both to the correct page, laying them out on the desk with shaky hands.

Takahashi Daisuke. Next of kin: Nakamura Kousuke.

Nakamura Kousuke. Next of kin: Takahashi Daisuke.

She swallowed the urge to throw up and read the next name on the list. This time, they matched.

Morino Ibiki.

Returning the files, she clasped the tags in front of her and made the final journey of the day. 

Torture and Interrogation was in the building next to intel and looked nearly identical from the inside. 

She walked up to the desk nervously.

“I need to speak to Morino Ibiki.” She said. The man at the desk didn’t even look at her. 

“He’s busy, now-”

“-Please. He needs to know.” She cut him off. He finally looked up, eyes landing on the dog tags. 

“Oh. I’m so sorry. I’ll get him. Just wait here.” The man scurried from behind the desk, vanishing down one of the many hallways. 

A teenager appeared from where the desk-nin had disappeared to, his frame taut. He was tall and tanned, still lanky in his teen years. She bowed once he was a few metres away.

“Morino Ibiki,” he nodded in confirmation, “you were listed as the next of kin for Takahashi Daisuke and Nakamura Kousuke,” she handed over the tags, “I’m sorry.” He took a moment to look at the tags before facing her.

“Thank you for telling me,” he took a breath, “Was it fast?” He whispered.

“Less than ten seconds. They barely felt a thing.” She answered with a watery smile.

* * *

Kakashi found her curled up in a blanket turtle in his apartment.

He dropped everything at the door, crouching at where he thought her head was beneath the covers. 

“Shikachi?” He whispered. She groaned, shifting slightly so she could poke her head out the side, “hey, hey, what happened?” He asked, looking at her tearstained face frantically. She proceeded to give him a run down of her mission through blubbered cries, reaching out to him with a heaving chest. Embracing her gently, he rocked them back and forth until she calmed down. 

“Okay, we have a list of things to do,” he started. She craned her neck to look at him, “First of all, you’re going to have a shower and we’re going to get you into clean clothes,” she went to protest, looking at his filthy state, “ _ then  _ I’m going to have a shower and get changed,” he continued, pulling the remainder of the covers from her, “Then, we’re going to get some food. Lastly, we’re going to sleep. We can deal with the rest tomorrow.” He said, his tone leaving no room for arguments.

“Now come on. Up. I’ll be right in here when you come out. You can even wear my blue hoodie.” He said, standing up.

“The really soft one that smells like Pakkun?” She asked, voice so small it made his heart hurt.

“Yes Shikachi, but first, shower.” She acquiesced, and soon they were both back in Kakashi’s bed, freshly washed, the take out boxes from their dinner still on the little coffee table in the middle of the room. 

* * *

The following day started late for the duo. They weren’t up until ten O’clock and only left Kakashi’s apartment at eleven. Shikachi wasn’t sure what her partner was preparing for, still just under two weeks left for her relief of active duty. He insisted that she kit up in her best gear, fully stocked on all her weapons and hair in a tight bun. He dressed similarly, looking ready for battle as he led her halfway across the village. 

They passed through winding, underground tunnels. Ten minutes of following Kakashi in the dark, they came to a door. Two ANBU were stationed outside it.

“I’m here to speak to the commander.” He said cryptically. One of the ANBU vanished. After a minute, the door opened, leading to more hallways. These ones were lit up. Another ANBU escorted them to a medium sized office. Kakashi walked in confidently, Shikachi trailing him warily. He bowed to the man behind the desk. 

“Taichou.” Kakashi stood to his full height. The Taichou was tall, Shikachi could tell just from where he sat. Easily six foot-something. He was broad shouldered and boasted a large, muscled chest that just screamed Taijutsu Specialist. He had dark brown eyes and short hair in the same shade to match.

“This is Nara Shikachi.” Her partner introduced. 

The man looked at her with interest.

“The Lightning Specialist.” He said. 

Shikachi nodded, bowing slightly. “Yes Sir.” She answered his non-question. 

He hummed, assessing her. 

“Are you sure she’s ready? She’s a little young, don’t you think?” He questioned Kakashi.

“I have full faith in her ability to match the standards of the organisation.” Kakashi answered. 

The man nodded, looking at her sharply now.

“Nara Shikachi, you can call me Boar-Taichou for now. I am the commander of the  Ansatsu Senjutsu Tokushu Butai. In a minute, I will take you to another room, and we will begin testing you to see if you qualify for the rank of ANBU. Do you accept my invitation to begin?” He said formally. She squared her shoulders. This chance wouldn’t come again. 

“I accept.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In conclusion: Shikachi likes Kakashi's hoodies


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ANBU, amongst other things

“There will be three parts to the test.” Taichou began. “The first, will measure your physical prowess.” 

Shikachi nodded, watching him like a hawk. It was just them, Kakashi not being allowed to be present for this phase of the assessment. 

“We’ll begin with Taijutsu.” He stated. Not waiting for a signal, he attacked, sending a flurry of punches and kicks her way. Letting her stance relax, she began dodging with relative ease.

_ Strike back. _

A voice whispered in the back of her head. Ducking beneath his fist, she drove into his solar plexus with brutal accuracy. He grunted and slid back. Going for another strike, she brought her second fist up to join the first in attacking his torso. And then he sped up. Grabbing her wrists, he pulled them out to the side and swept her feet out from under her. With nothing to cushion her fall, she smacked into the ground. She wheezed, trying to turn on her side to breath but he held firm. With her wrists still in his bruising grip, he knelt over her. Flipping her easily, he twisted her arms until they felt like they would snap under the pressure.

And then he was letting go and stepping back from her.

“Again.” He ordered. With a cough, she stood back up. 

For the next thirty minutes, he attacked relentlessly, pushing her as far as he could. After pinning her for the tenth time, he stood back.

“Okay, the Taijutsu portion of this test is over.” He waited for her to collect herself before continuing, “The next portion will test on Ninjutsu.” A ninja dropped from the ceiling. They wore the ANBU uniform and had a bird mask on. “This is Hawk. They will conduct this portion of this test.” Taichou nodded to the masked person and they were attacking. 

A gale of wind sliced through the air, straight for her. Cursing, she dropped to the ground, squinting as the jutsu brushed over her back. Leaping to her feet, she watched her opponent carefully. They were clearly a wind type- possibly even a Wind Specialist. Meaning all her lightning jutsu would be useless. In addition to this, they seemed to be a long range fighter. 

The solution was obvious.  _ Get in close _ . 

Taking a deep breath, she unzipped her Jonin vest, tossing it to the side. Her opponent's eyes were drawn to the clothing. 

Taking her chance, she moved.

They snapped back to her in an instant, sending jutsu after jutsu after her. Circling them, she closed in on them in ever tightening loops. It took a while, having to dodge gales that would slice her in half if she wasn’t paying attention. 

Finally, she was in range. Just two metres from her target, she let her shadow lash out. It wasted no time latching onto her opponent, freezing them in their tracks. Raising a single tendril, she thought back to the very first sparring session with Kakashi.

_ “ _ _ You should follow through with your strikes.”  _

“Stop.” 

The tendril froze, centimeters from her opponents heart. Dropping the jutsu, she looked at Boar-Taichou expectantly. He didn’t give away his thoughts on her performance, simply dismissing Hawk.

“The final portion of this test is Genjutsu.” He started walking away. She followed him as he made him way down the winding halls. Eyeing up the walls, she furrowed her eyebrows. Making sure Taichou wasn’t looking, she brushed her fingers against the wall, pulling away to have a soft, red clay-like substance cover her tips. She looked at the Taichou’s back with narrowed eyes. 

It didn’t make sense. First of all, Konoha didn’t have soft rock. And it certainly wasn’t red. Secondly, the structure they were walking through wouldn’t be physically possible with the texture of the dirt. It was too loose, and wouldn't hold the extensive underground system she could see here. Thirdly, the lights were  _ wrong.  _ They burned too hot for such a small flame. It made her want to shy away as she passed them. 

And then it clicked. 

“Kai.” She opened her eyes to find her shadow tendril poised, ready to strike Hawk, who was still trapped in her Shadow Possession Jutsu. 

“That concludes the first test,” Taichou started, shaking her out of her trance completely. Dropping the jutsu, for real this time, she looked at Boar warily, “follow me.” He ordered. Waiting for her to join his side, he dismissed Hawk, and another ninja who had joined them when Shikachi was under the illusion.

They entered a small room with a chair at the centre. 

“Take a seat.” He ordered. She sat apprehensively. “Before we begin this portion of the test, I need to explain a few things.” She nodded and he continued. “The second phase of the assessment will test resistance to torture.” She froze. “If you wish to discontinue the test here, you are welcome to, and you will be free to leave. If you decide to take part, you will be given a safe word. Say the safe word, and we stop the assessment.” He paused briefly. “There is no shame in withdrawing. I’ll give you two minutes to make your choice.” He finished and left the room. 

Shikachi took a breath, collecting her thoughts. Was it worth it? What if she couldn’t do it?

She gnawed at her bottom lip. 

Boar-Taichou returned two minutes later.

“Have you decided?” He asked. She nodded.

“What’s the safe word?” She replied. 

“Stop.” He said. It was so simple. 

“Then let's begin.” His stance changed, looking so intimidating now. “Strip down to your underwear. I want all your weapons.” He ordered. 

Pulling her clothes off, she dumped them in his waiting hands, feeling thankful she’d chosen to wrap her chest that day.

Then, he left, shutting the door behind him and locking it with a soft  _ click.  _

Shikachi lost track of the time, with no clock in the room. It was just a box underground with a light hanging overhead. No windows– no natural light to go by. So, she waited. Hours must’ve gone by before anyone opened the door, jerking her awake- having fallen asleep thirty minutes before. They rushed in before she could defend herself, pulling a bag over her head and cuffing her hands with chakra restraining ties in front of her.

“Walk!” Her kidnappers ordered. Not being able to see was probably the worst bit. At one point, she knew they’d taken her outside, being able to feel the wind against her bare skin. 

The bag was pulled off of her head and she was being shoved into a body of water. Bracing herself, she hit the water with a splash. It was ice cold, shocking her so much all she wanted to do was open her mouth and take a gasping breath of air. Clamping her jaw shut, she opened her eyes under the water. She let out the tiniest bit of air, watching the bubbles float to what she had originally perceived as down. Following the bubbles, she burst through the surface, gasping for air. One of her kidnappers, wearing a plain white mask, was in the water with her. 

Having no other choice, she kicked her feet and tread the water, struggling to keep her head above the surface. 

“We can do this all night.” Someone on the shore said. And that was the crux of it, wasn’t it? She was wasting energy treading water whilst her attackers sat on the shore, just waiting for her to drown. She needed a way out. The cuffs needed to be the first to go. 

She spent the next few minutes letting her head drop under, as if she was struggling to swim, to assess the restraints. Her head breached the air again and she took one last breath before sinking. She waited until her feet hit the bottom of the water before dislocating her thumbs. The cuffs slid off easily and she looked up. Zeroing in on the kidnapper in the water, she swam up to him and grabbed his ankles. She yanked him down, wrapping her arm around his neck. Counting to seven, she waited for him to go limp in the water before letting go, letting him float up. 

Listening to the shouts above, she watched as the body was fished out. Once she knew the person was out of the water, she put her head above the surface for one last breath before swimming to the edge, staying as close to the ground as she could. Once flat against the wall, she sparked her body, electrifying the water to unbearable levels for anything else. Popping her head above the water, she checked her surroundings before climbing out, making sure she kept two contact points with the ground at all times to not electrocute herself. 

She grinned at them.

“I can do this all night.” She mocked their earlier words, slowly letting the lightning leave her body. Boar-Taichou touched down a few metres away from her, steering clear of the water. 

“The second phase of the assessment is complete.” He announced. She relaxed, checking there was no more residual lightning before standing, “Now,” he threw a kunai at her feet and she jumped back a few metres, “there’s just one more thing you need to do.” A body was thrown between them. It had a bag over the person's head and they were handcuffed, like she had been only minutes ago. “Kill them, and you pass.” Looking between the body, the kunai and Boar-Taichou, she hesitated. 

“What’s the matter? I thought you were an assassin.” Taichou goaded her. 

She squared her shoulders with a scowl.

“First of all, I’m a Lightning Specialist.” She snarked. “Last of all, I’m not going to kill them.”

He regarded her through slitted eyes, titling his head unassumingly. “Why?” 

“I don’t have to explain myself to you.” The area was silent. After a minute, Taichou smiled.

“Welcome to ANBU.”

* * *

Boar-Taichou proceeded to lead her back to Kakashi, who fussed endlessly over her thumbs. 

“We’ll get those healed up and then give you an induction.” Taichou said. They had a medic inside the ANBU headquarters waiting for them. Shikachi was healed up in no time and led to Boar-Taichou’s office. Kakashi stood at the back of the room quietly. Both men looked at her proudly.

“You can call me Tadashi.” Taichou finally introduced himself. “Now, onto the formal stuff. Ansatsu Senjutsu Tokushu Butai expects all its members to uphold the eight core values. These are  courage, respect, modesty, friendship, honour, honesty, self-control and courtesy. Do you promise to uphold these values at all times, in and outside of the organisation?” He asked.

She didn’t hesitate. “I do.” 

He smiled and rounded the desk.

“Well then, let’s get you the tattoo and then you can see your mask.” He said, leading her out the door. Kakashi walked with her, a silent support throughout. 

She was sat down in a sterile chair, a tattooed man already waiting for her. 

“Women get the tattoo on their right shoulder. Men on the left. It has a seal inside that allows the Hokage to summon you.” Tadashi explained. 

“It’s gonna hurt, isn’t it?” She said with a small  _ eep _ as the tattoo artist readied his machine. 

Kakashi winced. “Only a little. It’s quick– I swear.” He reassured her. 

“Hold my hand?” She asked, extending her left hand expectantly. Kakashi rolled his eye but sat on her other side, taking the hand and giving it a little squeeze. A light buzz filled the room and Shikachi held back her flinch as the needle made contact.

“Are you excited to see your mask?” Kakashi distracted her. 

She hummed. “More curious than excited.” She answered. They made small talk for the rest of the hour, Kakashi making the effort to keep her talking (and not looking at her shoulder every five seconds).

“And we’re done.” The tattoo artist said, wiping away the last of the excess ink from her skin. He covered her shoulder in a bandage. “Keep that on for a few hours and then wash the wound with soap and water. Leave it uncovered during the day, but wrap it in plastic wrap for the first three nights.” 

Shikachi nodded, standing up and bowing once the bandage was secure.

“Thank you.” She said. 

Tadashi cleared his throat, waiting in the doorway. 

“Come on. We’ll get you your uniform and then you can see the mask.” He led the pair of them to a storage room. Looking Shikachi up and down, he began rifling through the piles of clothes to find something that would fit. He held out a stack of clothes, mainly the black shirts and trousers, but also two sets of arm guards and the famous white breastplate. 

“If they don’t fit let me know and I’ll have them tailored for you. That’s the smallest size we have otherwise.” Tadashi started. “Now, the mask.” He looked excited as he guided her to his office. Placing the pile of clothing on a chair at the side, he handed her a box. 

Anxiously, she removed the lid. 

Staring back at her was a white mask. It had large, pointy ears and a nose that stuck out, resembling a snout. There was forest green lining the eyes and, in the same colour, two strokes trailing the cheekbone on each side, all the way from the edge up the snout, coming to a point at the end.

“Welcome to ANBU, Jackal.” 

* * *

The following day, Shikachi was introduced to her teammates. They would be on a squad together until she left the organisation. The meeting began with their masks on-sans the commander.

“Cat, Viper, this is Jackal, the newest recruit, and Hound, your Captain.” Tadashi introduced them. 

Cat was short and scrawny. He looked around Kakashi’s age and had yet to hit his growth spurt. His mask resembled his namesake, covered in intricate green and red lines that framed the porcelain perfectly.

Viper was tallest, standing at around 5’9”. He was broad shouldered and looked like the oldest of the group. His mask was rather plain, with just vibrant yellow outlining his eyes. The rest was plain white, with a small marking for where his mouth would sit. Shikachi thought it would look scarier if it was black with yellow rather than white.

Tadashi walked away after his brief introduction, letting them get to know each other. They bowed to each other politely and then moved to remove their masks. 

Viper pulled his off first. “Call me Genma.” He grinned to the trio. 

Shikachi watched as Kakashi removed his mask.

“Kakashi, but you already knew that.” He said. 

Genma snorted. “The hair is so recognisable it’s ridiculous.” 

Cat pulled off his mask next. He had short brown hair and black, almond-shaped eyes. A happuri-style forehead protector framed his face, giving him a bit of a creepy aura.

“I’m Tenzo.” He offered his name quietly. 

Shikachi pulled hers off last. “I’m Shikachi. I look forward to working with you.” She said politely. 

“Hey! Sparky!” Genma called, throwing himself around her shoulders with a grin. 

“Genma, not the time.” Kakashi growled, pulling the man off his partner. “We need to run through a few training drills before we head out into the field. The Commander told me that our team will specialise in capture, retrieval and assassination.” He explained. 

“Well what are everyone’s individual specialisations?” Genma asked. He’d managed to get a senbon between his teeth sometime between Kakashi’s scolding.

“Capture.” Tenzo answered quietly. They looked at Shikachi next.

“Ninjutsu- mainly lightning and my family’s jutsus.” She elaborated. 

Kakashi cleared his throat. “Tracking and Ninjutsu.” He said. 

Taking his cue, Genma went last. “Poison.” He stated.

“Okay, let’s head to the private training room and we can start on those drills.” Kakashi said, leading the way to the dojo Tadashi had booked out for them for the next few hours. 

Ten minutes into the session, Shikachi understood why their team was assigned their specialisation. To put it simply, they were seriously overpowered. Side note, how the  _ hell  _ did Tenzo have the  _ Mokuton _ ? Shikachi didn’t think she recovered her jaw from the floor after seeing him use it. Their squad was essentially composed of: a tracker, to find the target, a poison specialist, to slow them down, a capture specialist, to pin them down, and a Lightning Specialist to take them out. That was far too effective for Shikachi’s liking. 

All in all, the drills were a success. It didn’t take them long to be moving like a unit, especially with Shikachi and Kakashi’s previous experience working with each other. 

Two days later, they were being handed their very first mission. It was on this mission that Shikachi realised she needed to start doing her laundry at Kakashi’s house. Her uniform ended up drenched in blood. In addition to that, Shikachi didn’t want to give her mother the heart attack of finding an ANBU uniform in the wash. 

Shikachi figured out pretty quickly that she really liked being in ANBU. She felt the least judged in her life, the other members of the organisation not questioning her age, or experience, or her credibility to be there. No one got into ANBU based on their name or who they knew. 

Their squad rapidly became one of the most famous. They were known for their efficiency on missions, with the highest success rate ever seen. The dream team, if you will. 

Shikachi felt safe with her teammates at her back. 

Genma, being the oldest of their quadruplet, took care of all of them; making sure they were eating properly; sleeping well and coping okay (what with their occupation). He especially doted on Shikachi, which Kakashi wasn’t fond of at first. Genma was a flirt, afterall. Kakashi made sure to consistently remind the man of the nine year age gap between the eldest and youngest. That normally got him to back off pretty quickly.

Kakashi was the second oldest and assumed the role of Captain like he was made for it. He led them well, coming up with thorough plans and getting everyone home unscathed every time. It was clear that Kakashi was relieved at Genma’s acceptance of Kakashi’s role as his leader, letting him order him around without complaint despite the age difference. 

Tenzo was quickly becoming Shikachi’s favourite teammate. He was quiet and reserved, but ruthless in battle. Oftentimes on missions, he would join her in her stargazing when they camped out and take part in her whispered talks about the emotional manipulation and common military techniques used in Konoha. 

Shikachi was thankful for the reprieve they gave her from the expectations she faced inside the village. Heir to the Nara Clan; daughter of the Jonin Commander; youngest Jonin in history; only Lightning Specialist in Konoha– and the list went on. 

She used the break to ignore her growing issues at home. It was clear her mother had no idea she was even in ANBU. If she did know, Shikachi was sure she would’ve marched down to Tadashi’s office herself so tell him to pull her out. Her father obviously was aware. Given that he was the Jonin commander, he had to be updated when one of his subordinates was unavailable, especially his Lightning Specialist. The fact that her father was keeping that from her mother didn’t sit well with her. 

The thing that affirmed that her mother definitely  _ didn’t  _ know was the incident. This is where the ‘do your washing at Kakashi’s’ rule became abundantly clear.

Shikachi’s best guess at what led up to the argument was that she had unintentionally dumped her ANBU uniform in with the rest of her clothes– somehow. It was probably when she had the concussion, she lamented later. 

She woke up to shouting, which immediately had Shikachi bolting out of bed and grabbing her weapons. Rounding the corner of the kitchen with her knives drawn, she came face to face with her mother screaming at her father. Shikaku stood stoically as Yoshino got in his face. 

“You let our daughter enter ANBU?” She growled, fisting a familiar white breastplate.

“It was  _ safer _ for her there-” Shikaku tried to explain.

“- _ safe?  _ What part of ANBU is  _ safe _ ?” Yoshino screeched, looking particularly stressed that she only just found out. 

“Yoshino.” Shikaku snapped. “I’ve been acting on the Hokage’s orders since she was  _ five _ . The Nara Clan’s standing in the village was at risk if I didn’t do as I was told. ANBU was a way out. Hokage candidates aren’t considered whilst they’re inside.” He explained calmly, jaw tense. 

“She’s our daughter. You’re supposed to give up everything for her you  _ asshat _ .” Yoshino seethed. 

“I can’t just abandon the clan when it suits me!” He retorted. “There are more important things then our daughter.” He said coldly. 

Shikachi felt as if she was rooted to her spot in the doorway.

“Nothing, and I mean  _ nothing,  _ is more important than my baby.” That phrase broke her out of her trace and she bolted out the door, not even stopping to put anything on her feet.  __

After that, Shikachi was rarely home, moving most of her possessions to Kakashi’s tiny apartment and sleeping there most nights she was in the village. She did try her best to make time for Shikamaru, whilst avoiding Shikaku (which was rather easy, considering the man was never home). But, her ANBU schedule, as unpredictable as it was, just ate up all her time. If she wasn’t on a mission, she was training with her squad. 

She threw herself into her work, and went dark for three years. 

* * *

At some point, Kakashi started growing like a weed. Over the years, he grew into this six foot lanky teen-turned adult. Shikachi swore that he gained two inches between the ages of nineteen and twenty, having filled out a lot during their time in ANBU. His chest was now well toned and his shoulders looked like they belonged on his body (as broad as they were). His physique looked similar to Boar-Taichou’s, Shikachi reflected later when they gave a report to the man and she could compare the two side-by-side.

Tenzo wasn’t far behind Kakashi, catching up to him easily enough just months after Kakashi hit his own growth spurt. He continued to chase after his Captain for multiple years, falling short once he reached eighteen. Like Kakashi, Tenzo had filled out in his late teen years.

So now all three of her teammates stood heads and shoulders above her, Kakashi at 6’; Genma, 5’11” and Tenzo at 5’10”. 

Meanwhile, she had stopped growing upwards at the tender age of thirteen, staying at 5’2”. She wasn’t salty at  _ all.  _ No, she definitely wasn’t cursing the trio in their sleep. 

The added height difference seemed to only increase their doting and she took advantage of their generosity in full force. She couldn’t remember the last time she even paid for her own meal. Life, overall, was good.

* * *

At the age of fourteen, she was returning from a routine perimeter shift in good spirits, already making plans to go to Genma’s later for some card games (and maybe some gambling and just a  _ smidge  _ of drinking, but no one needed to know that). 

Giving their verbal reports to Tadashi, they were about to leave when the Commander stopped them grimly. Standing from his seat, he pulled out two dog tags with him and the whole group froze.

“Nara Shikachi.” Said girl swallowed dryly, turning to face Tadashi nervously. “Earlier tonight, Uchiha Shisui committed suicide. As his listed next of kin, I have the duty to hand over both his, and any other dog tags found on his person.” He said formally, dropping the chains in Shikachi’s outstretched hand. “I’m sorry for your loss.” 

Shikachi felt her world collapse around her. The two of them had grown apart over the past few years, just not having the time to see each other anymore. But he was still her teammate. They fought together- made Jonin together. He was just a part of her and she was of him. And now he was gone. She felt sick. 

Making a beeline for the tiny trash can at the end of the Commanders desk, she promptly threw up. Kakashi was right behind her, kneeling at her side and rubbing her back as she cried.

“Okay, come on. You need to get up.” He coaxed her away from the trash can, wrapping an arm around her waist to help support her. “I’ll take her home.” He said to the rest of the room. After receiving grim nods, he shunshinned to his apartment. 

And she broke down. 

* * *

The funeral took place two days later. Shikachi wore all the dog tags around her neck, having demanded Kakashi help her put them on after she’d stopped crying for the third time. 

Arriving at the familiar lake, Shikachi took her place next to Mikoto. She was the only non-Uchiha present, she realised after they lit the pyre. Standing vigil this time round was harder than the first time she did it. Still, she held herself strong against the biting winds of the early winter breeze. 

She blinked and the pyre was gone, burned to ash. Shaking herself out of her haze, she looked over to see Mikoto waiting for her. The woman smiled at her once she knew Shikachi was back in the present. Wrapping an arm around her student’s shoulders, she guided her to Fugaku’s study in the main house. After activating the silencing seals, she sat Shikachi down on the sofa at the edge of the room. 

“Shikachi, I need to ask something of you.” The woman started. “I’m really sorry to have to put you in this position.” She prefaced before continuing. “Please let me teach you the Uchiha Style.” 

Shikachi froze.

“What? Sensei, that’s for clan members only. We would both face the penalty of death if anyone found out!” She said, trying to get the woman to see reason.

“Shikachi, I need you to learn it. The clan is running out of time.” She begged. “Please.”

The teen searched Mikoto’s face. 

“I know I’m asking a lot.” Mikoto admitted. “But I don’t trust anyone else.” 

Shikachi bit her lip, thoughts flying at a mile a minute as she went through scenario after scenario, having deduced what ‘running out of time’ implied. 

Her dog tags sat heavy on her chest.

“Okay,” she acquiesced, “I’ll do it.”

* * *

Shikachi resigned from ANBU a week later. Handing in her mask was easy. The Commander had retired the mask and codename. It would only be used again if she chose to rejoin the organisation. 

Kakashi had wanted to quit with her, not comfortable with her going out in the field without him. As it was, he needed to find a suitable replacement for both Shikachi and himself before he could leave, as was the responsibility of the Captain.

There were other concerns with her withdrawal. Asuma had yet to return from the Guardian Twelve, putting her in the spotlight for the running for Hokage. The good news was that Asuma had gained himself a hefty bounty of 25 million ryō during his time away, meaning that the council would be getting ready to pounce on him upon his return to the village. Shikachi had yet to earn a spot in the famed Bingo Book, but she had a feeling it would come in due time, now that she was going to be back on the regular roster. 

Her return to the active forces gave her much more free time. Where ANBU was an all consuming occupation, being a Jonin again was like a walk in the park. This was, again, welcome news, considering she was going to be spending the majority of her free time training with Mikoto.

Speaking of, her sensei had refused to train her during the day. Shikachi understood the reasoning. They were less likely to be found out if they trained in the redwoods outside the walls at 3 am. That didn’t mean she liked it. Every session was a push against the clock and half the time she ended up being sent on a mission the next day, meaning she was running on no sleep for A and S-ranks. Not really the best combination. 

One such occasion had been when she had fallen asleep at 6 am, only to be woken up at 7 am by a summons from the Hokage. 

“You want me to what?” Shikachi blurted out before she could stop herself– clearly the lack of sleep was affecting her filter.

The Hokage dragged a hand down his face with a tired sigh. “Lead the mission, Shikachi. You are a Jonin, are you not?” 

“Yes, Hokage-sama.” Shikachi answered respectfully, internally wincing as she was put under the man’s scrutiny. 

“Then as the highest ranking member of the team, you shall lead. Am I clear?” He reiterated. 

“Yes Sir.” She said, stopping the small  _ eep  _ that wanted to escape her lips.

“Good. You leave in an hour. Your client will meet you at the gate.” The Hokage said. Taking the clear dismissal, she led her two teammates out of the room. 

“I guess we should do introductions.” Shikachi said, looking up at the two males. 

“I’m Kamizuki Izumo and this is my partner Hagane Kotetsu.” Izumo introduced the both of them. She bowed slightly in greeting. 

“I’m Nara Shikachi. Do you two have any specialities?” She asked, knowing not all chunin had a specialisation like the majority of Jonin did. 

"We're kenjutsu specialists, mainly. What about you?" Kotetsu answered. 

Shikachi smiled, eyes pinching into crescents. "I'm the Lightning Specialist." 

The men sputtered in unison, choking on air.

"Oh my god. You're  _ the  _ Lightning Specialist?!" Izumo gaped. 

"Yep. Now that's out the way," she moved on swiftly, opening the scroll to give it a cursory read, "A-rank bodyguard mission. It's just one client- said to have valuable information from other nations and needs an escort to Hot Water country. Pack for a month and meet me at the Northern Gate." She summarised neatly, walking away and leaving the pair to stare after her. 

They met at the gate as planned, Shikachi was the first one there, greeting their client professionally.

"It's nice to meet you, Saito-san. My name is Nara Shikachi and I'll be the team leader for this mission." She introduced herself smoothly. 

Her client- Saito Yashiro- was a skinny man in his late twenties. He had long brown hair that came to the middle of his back and hazel eyes to match. He wore a simple yukata that was multiple shades of pale blues, with grey sandals on his feet. 

Izumo and Kotetsu touched down at the gate with a minute to spare. They bowed to the client.

"This is Kamizuki Izumo and Hagane Kotetsu, the other members of your protective detail. Now, I've mapped out a route for us to-" 

"-why are you the captain?" Saito cut Shikachi off abruptly, frowning at her. 

She smiled tightly. "I am the leader because I am the highest ranking member of the team. If you have a problem with that then you can take it up with the Hokage. I assure you, Saito-san, I am more than capable of doing my job." She spoke firmly, eyes hardening and shoulders going taut. 

"What rank are you? You look about twelve." He sneered. 

She opened her mouth to respond but was cut off by Kotetsu saddling up next to her. "Nara-san here is the only Jonin of this squad, and she is fourteen, not twelve. Would you like to go back to the Hokage and take this issue further?" He said, standing slightly in front of her to unconsciously shield her. 

The client narrowed his eyes on Shikachi with a scowl. "I want proof that she's competent." He demanded. 

"Okay then, if you'll follow me, we'll head back to the Hokage Tower." Izumo said, turning around and stalking off, not waiting to see if the man followed. 

They all stood inside the old man's office a few minutes later. Shikachi stepped forward.

"Hokage-sama, Saito-San has questioned my credibility as team leader and has requested to speak with you." She prefaced before stepping back with a scowl. Looking at her teammates, they wore matching expressions to her own.

"That  _ girl  _ can't possibly be a Jonin of Konohagakure." He said suspiciously. The Hokage put his pipe down, sitting up straight and hitting Saito with a pointed glare.

"Nara Shikachi is a Jonin of the Leaf. You have my word that she is able to complete your requested mission. If you are not still not happy with her leading the detail, you can withdraw your request for a mission, which will incur cancellation charges for such short notice given." The man said stiffly.

Internally, Shikachi  _ wished  _ this man would just withdraw the request so she could go home and sleep. 

He scowled. "I'll take this team." He said begrudgingly.

The Hokage dismissed them and they finally made their way out of the gate, Saito glaring at Shikachi the whole time.

It was going to be a long mission.

* * *

They followed the route Shikachi had marked out, travelling the civilian roads and stopping every night in fancy hotels that Kakashi would have  _ killed  _ Shikachi for staying in. It was at the request of their client– who was paying for their rooms– so she couldn’t exactly argue. 

Since there were only three of them on the protective detail, they adopted a triangular formation instead, with Shikachi at the rear and Izumo and Kotetsu at the front on either side of Saito.

Any grievances the man had were buried as they continued on without issue. Although, two weeks of walking at the civilian pace was grating on Shikachi. She used to be an ANBU for Christ’s sake. They were only just making it to the Fire-Hot Water border, something that normally took Shikachi two  _ days. _

The trio were vigilant as they crossed the border, keeping their eyes out for any sign of ambush. 

Shikachi had this building feeling in her gut–that something just wasn’t right. It got worse the closer they got to the hotel. 

_ Just thirty minutes.  _

She reminded herself, growing tense at the slightest sound. 

They came out of the trees quicker than Izumo and Kotetsu could anticipate, both teens being cut down with slashes to their abdomens before they could even draw their weapons, hitting their heads as they smacked into the ground.

“ _ Shit. _ ” Shikachi cursed as she yanked Saito behind her.

Lightning crackled down her arms as the first of the attackers clashed with her. All it took was that one point of contact for the enemy to drop to the floor, convulsing from shock. 

“Give him to us, girly, and no one has to get hurt.” One of the enemies sneered. Her eyes flickered to their headbands. 

Kumo.

“Saito-san, I need you to stay behind me no matter what. Can you do that for me?” She asked, shadows pooling at her feet as she eyed the remaining three ninja. All easily Jonin, from the way they took out Izumo and Kotetsu.

“Y-yes, Shikachi-san.” Saito stuttered out. Shikachi growled. Now they knew her name. Great. Placing her kunai in her mouth, she brought her hands together.

_ Rat–snake–dog. _

Twin wolves flanked her, roaring and sprinting after the enemies to her sides. The one on the left was too slow to dodge, going down in one hit. The other one, on the right, sidestepped with a smirk before being struck from behind. 

The remaining enemy narrowed his eyes. “That’s an interesting jutsu you’ve got there, girly.” 

He rushed her, trying to get close but backing off when her shadows shot out to skewer him. Teetering at the edge of her range, he assessed the situation clinically.

“A Nara.” He concluded. Taking a step back, he turned on his heel and vanished into the treeline. Shikachi waited a moment before moving from her spot, going for the unconscious enemies first. Slitting their throats mercilessly, she then moved onto Izumo and Kotetsu. They sported twin gashes on their stomachs that were bleeding sluggishly. 

“Saito-san, I’m going to need your help.” She said, looking at the ghostly pale man just behind her. “Come here and put pressure on the wound whilst I wrap it.” She ordered. He obeyed hastily, dropping to his knees and placing his hands over Izumo’s stomach shakily. Shikachi made quick work of wrapping the Chunin in a bandage before moving on to Kotetsu, pulling Saito along with her. 

“What now?” Saito asked, eyes flitting between the unconscious ninja to the dead ones nervously.

“Now, we move. I need to get these two to a hospital, or at least the hotel.” She said, grunting as she picked Kotetsu up, slinging one of the teen’s arms around her shoulders. “Grab Izumo– please. I can only carry one of them.” She asked, already beginning to struggle under the dead weight. Saito picked Izumo up with similar difficulty to Shikachi. 

It took them nearly an hour to make it to the hotel, Shikachi placing both of her teammates in the available beds the moment they entered the room. 

“What about me?” Saito asked anxiously. Shikachi bit her lip. There was still an enemy after her client. She shouldn’t leave Izumo or Kotetsu alone whilst they’re unconscious, in case they get attacked again. 

“We need to at least wait for them to wake up so I can let them know the situation.” Shikachi answered in a hushed tone. 

Saito nodded seriously. “Of course. I’ll order food up to the room and stay in here tonight. It’ll make your job easier if I’m close, right?” He said. 

“That would be very helpful, thank you.” Shikachi agreed, shoulders starting to sag now that the adrenaline was wearing off. 

They ate rice and smoked fish for dinner. Shikachi took lookout duty once the sun began to set, since she was the only one conscious. 

It was 3 am when Saito interrupted the silence of the night. 

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled, startling Shikachi out of her thinking, “I shouldn’t have doubted your skills or rank. Clearly you’re very competent.” He admitted, laughing breathlessly at the end. 

Shikachi smiled in his direction. “Thank you– for apologising.” A few quiet moments went by. “You should sleep, I’ll keep watch don’t worry.” 

Just as the sun was rising, a small groan came from across the room. 

Shikachi rushed over to Izumo’s bedside anxiously. 

“What happened?” Izumo managed to rasp out once he saw Shikachi.

“We were ambushed. Both you and Kotetsu have slashes to your stomachs. I stemmed the bleeding for now but I don’t know if there’s any internal bleeding. We’re in the designated hotel from before the attack.” She summarised succinctly. 

Izumo winced as he peeked under the covers to look at his bandaged side. 

“We’re not far from where we need to drop him off. Finish the mission now and then come back for us.” Izumo suggested. 

“That was my plan–” Shikachi nodded, “–once one of you were conscious.” She added. “I’ll be back in a day tops. Stay safe until then.” She said, doing a final weapons check before turning to Saito. “Ready to go? I’ll get you to the designated spot as quickly as possible.”

The man nodded, following after her as she made her way out of the door.

Shikachi peeked her head round the door after walking out. “Don’t die.” She ordered. Izumo saluted mockingly with a lazy grin.

“Come on, we need to hurry.” She said once they were out of the room. She’d get him there in under half a day; there wasn’t much more time to waste.

They made it to the designated drop off point in eight hours– a nondescript building in the centre of the capital of Hot Water country. If Saito was attacked once he entered, that was none of her business. 

She made it back to the hotel room an hour and a half after leaving Saito. Barreling in, she found Kotetsu and Izumo sitting up in their beds, chatting mindlessly.

“Thank God you’re both still alive.” Shikachi breathed out in relief. 

Kotetsu snorted. “We’re not completely useless.” He snarked.

“Are you injured?” Izumo changed the subject. 

Shikachi shook her head. “No. How are your wounds?” She asked, looking between them worriedly. 

“Painful.” Izumo answered truthfully, now that they didn’t have a client to look after. 

Shikachi frowned. “I need to get you both back to the village.” Ordinarily, she would take them to the nearest hospital, but all the other ones were civilian– unequipped to deal with their injuries like a field medic was– and were nearly as far away as the village itself. 

“We can make it.” Izumo stated determinedly. 

“We leave now. I’m not letting anymore possible internal bleeding get worse.” She ordered. Shikachi held back a wince as both men struggled to get out of their respective beds. 

They were out of the hotel fifteen minutes later, stopping at the base of a tree. 

“You two take point to set the pace. I’ll follow close behind. If you start struggling, stop and we’ll take a break.” Shikachi ordered. The teens nodded, slowly making their way up the tree. 

They travelled slowly, taking four and a half days to make it all the way back to the village. Not bothering to sign in, they made a beeline for the hospital. Shikachi relaxed considerably once she knew both teens were in the care of a medic.

Kakashi found her watching the doctors examine her teammates. 

He grabbed her by the shoulders, bending to look into her eyes worriedly. “Are you okay?” He gave her a cursory once over, searching for any signs of injury. “When I heard you’d gone straight to the hospital I just-” He rambled.

“-I’m fine.” Shikachi cut him off, taking his hands in hers to pull them from her shoulders gently, “I wasn’t injured. We rushed in for those two.” She said, nodding in the Chunins direction. 

Shoulders sagging, Kakashi sighed in relief. “Thank God.” He mumbled before standing to his full height again. “Have you eaten at all? I’ll take you out.” He offered. 

Shikachi looked at her teammates in front of her worriedly.

“Go, Shikachi. We’ll be fine here for a few hours I’m sure.” Kotetsu reassured her whilst Izumo looked at Kakashi in awe, mouth gaping. 

She nodded, taking Kakashi’s larger hand in her own. “Your report needs to be written in three days time. I’ll see you at the debrief.” She smiled, dragging her partner behind her like an overgrown puppy. 

A slap could be heard from inside the hospital room. “Close your mouth oh my God.” Kotetsu scolded.

“But- what- he-” Izumo stammered. “That was Hatake Kakashi!” He hissed incredulously.

* * *

Kakashi took her out to a small barbeque place near his apartment, filling up Shikachi’s plate double what she could consume all while giving her a rundown of the internal affairs whilst she'd been gone. 

Not much had changed politically. Genma had– in essence– been dropped from the running for Hokage, already twenty-two and nowhere in the bingo book and with a specialisation that didn’t suit the position. Konoha liked their Hokage’s to be heavy-hitters with flashy jutsus and that just wasn’t Genma. 

Asuma wasn’t back yet, although Kakashi said that he’d heard word that the man was returning in the next few years– something about internal issues in the Guardian Twelve– radicals, he’d muttered. 

Uchiha Itachi had replaced Shikachi on their ANBU squad. Kakashi was hoping to groom the boy into a captain in the next few years, anticipating being able to leave the organisation. He didn’t tell her that he was receiving pressure to leave from the ANBU Commander, the council and the Hokage; she didn’t need to worry.

Shikachi crashed in the man's apartment after their meal, curling up with Pakkun and watching contently as another storm rolled in.

* * *

She spent Christmas outside the village. As much as she wanted to enjoy Yule with the Uchiha’s, she didn’t want to be around for the awkwardness that would be dinner with her father and the rest of the Ino-Shika-Cho families. 

Instead, Kakashi had managed to get the pair of them a mission to Frost. It was a simple assassination, completed in the first week of their given month. Foregoing their headbands and uniform, they spent the remainder of the Christmas period in a small town just outside the border of Lightning Country. 

Kumo was mostly Asatru, like the Uchiha Clan and, thus, it’s village and the surrounding towns in Frost also celebrated the solstice. The pair of them enjoyed the festivities, relishing in the white blanketing the ground and the local delicacies that kept them warm throughout their stay. 

If anyone recognised Kakashi, they didn’t say anything, letting the pair celebrate like everyone else. 

They made sure to be inside Fire Country on January 1st, the day the Bingo Books got released. Shikachi and Kakashi arrived back to the village on the third day of the year, signing in and then making a beeline for the Jonin lounge. 

Bounding into the room, they ignored the eyes on them as they collected their copies, flipping through the pages absentmindedly.

“Hey look Asuma’s bounty went up to thirty million.” Shikachi commented casually, scanning the book for her own name.

Kakashi groaned. “Shikachi…” 

She looked at him with furrowed eyebrows.

“What is it?” She prodded with a pout. 

“Page twenty-seven.” Was all he said. Flipping to said page, she saw her own face staring back at her. 

**_Nara Shikachi_ **

_ A-Rank _

_ 30 million ryō _ __

_ Kill on sight _

_ Specialiations: Lightning jutsu, black lightning, Nara Clan techniques _

_ Alternative names: The Black Wolf, Lightning Wolf Shikachi,  _

“Fuck.” 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahhh this chapter took so much longer than I saw expecting it to >.< I hope everyone liked it!
> 
> Added 28/07/20:
> 
> Hi everyone! Good news! I've gotten a full time job :D   
> Bad news, there won't be an update for at least another month unfortunately :(   
> I hope you can be patient with me in waiting for the next update 😓


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angst incoming

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> @ramenlattes, @firefly_aki, @silentcomfort and @orlha, im sure you'll be able to pick out some scenes you asked for :3

Shikachi’s entry into the Bingo Book seemed to solidify her position in the village. Well, that and the gossips known as Izumo and Kotetsu. Word spread quickly about the trio's successful mission– how she brought them back alive _and_ completed the mission; not to mention they actually arrived back home a day ahead of schedule. 

The Jonin was quickly paired with T&I for various missions, ranging from capture to search and rescue. She was a favourite amongst the senior interrogators. 

“Shikachi-chan!” Anko grinned at the approaching Jonin. 

Said girl grunted, having just handed over a target to the sector. “Anko-san.” She smiled, eyes pinching into crescents. 

Anko slung an arm around Shikachi’s shoulders.

“C’mon, you can call me senpai, I am older than you.” The woman jibed. 

Ibiki rounded the corner with a scowl. “It would be an insult to Jonin everywhere to call you senpai, Anko.” The man grumbled.

The woman squawked. “But–” 

“To be honest, I’m not a big fan of honorifics. I can just drop the san altogether if it makes you feel better?” Shikachi offered easily. 

Anko’s eyes sparkled, making Shikachi attempt to inch away, even with the arm encircling her, getting ever tighter. “Shikachi-chan!” The woman wailed happily. 

Shikachi looked to Ibiki in panic. 

_“Save me.”_ She hissed. 

Ibiki smirked. “Hey, Anko, how about we all go out for a few drinks at my place?” 

“That sounds like a _fantastic_ idea.” Anko grinned. 

That’s how Shikachi found herself inside the Head Interrogator's apartment, being handed a strong smelling drink. _Vodka_ , Ibiki had called it. 

“Don’t sip it. Drink it in one go.” Anko warned before clinking her own glass with Shikachi’s. The teen watched as Anko downed the shot. Following suit, the liquid burned its way down her throat. 

She coughed after swallowing, pursing her lips distastefully. “That’s gross– _agh.”_

Anko grinned, refilling both their glasses. Shikachi eyed the offending liquid hesitantly. 

“C’mon~” Anko goaded, “just one more drink?” 

Five shots later, Shikachi was giggling from her spot on the sofa as Anko fell off her chair onto the floor, completely uncoordinated. At some point, they’d been joined by Izumo, Kotetsu and a man called Raidou. 

The alcohol clouded the fact that the whole village would know if she did anything embarrassing that night, what with Izumo and Kotetsu present– the resident gossips. As such, Shikachi was wholly unhindered when Kakashi showed up at the front door. The man barged in like a storm, still covered in dirt from a mission. He zeroed in on his partner with a scowl. 

Shikachi giggled, stumbling over to him and leaning into his larger form happily.

“Kakashi!” She chirped. 

He recoiled as the smell of her breath hit him. 

“Who gave her alcohol?” He cut through the atmosphere expertly, gripping Shikachi’s waist to hold her up.

Raidou pointed at Anko unabashedly. Said woman squawked, shaking her head in denial. 

“I’ll be having words with you when you’re sober.” Kakashi warned. 

With that, he swept his partner up and flickered to their apartment. She swayed on her feet, looking suspiciously green. Quickly, he pulled her toward the toilet where she vomited up yellowish foul smelling bile. Kakashi rubbed her back sympathetically as she groaned into the bowl. Vanishing for a minute once she stopped vomiting, he returned with a tall glass of water. 

“Can you drink that for me? You need to rehydrate.” He asked, crouching down to her level with a disarming smile that had the teen taking the offered drink. Drinking half the liquid, she tried to hand the glass back. He smiled and pushed it back over to her menacingly. 

“Finish it, Shikachi.” He practically ordered. 

_I fucked up._ Shikachi thought as she registered his captain-voice. 

Diligently, she downed the rest of the water and was led to the bed. Kakashi tucked her in and left another full glass of water at the bedside before taking the ratty sofa across the room. 

Shikachi pouted, feeling lonely, but didn’t ask him to join her like usual. Even drunk, she could tell the alcohol was making him uncomfortable. Before she knew it, she passed out. 

Waking up was an _experience._ Shikachi still felt nauseous and her head pounded unlike any concussion she’d ever had. 

“Good morning.” Kakashi greeted from across the room. Groaning, Shikachi squinted at him, curling in on herself at the sunlight that poured in from the open curtains. 

“I feel sick.” She commented, voice croaky. 

“Drink the water for me, and then we need to have a conversation.” He said, setting off alarm bells in Shikachi’s head. Doing as he said, she finished the glass and joined her partner on the sofa.

Kakashi took a deep breath. “How much of last night do you remember?” He started. 

Shikachi took a minute to go through her–admittedly foggy–memory. 

“Not much, I think Anko fell over at one point.” She mumbled, deep in thought.

“Okay, next question, do you know what you drank?” He continued. 

“Um… Ibiki said the shots were vodka but there were a lot of other things too that I don’t really…” She trailed off. 

“That’s okay.” Kakashi smiled reassuringly. “We’re going to learn this lesson now so it doesn’t have to be done in the field.” Shikachi waited patiently for him to continue, giving him her full, undivided attention. “Firstly, if you don’t know what it is, don’t drink it. It could be poisoned or spiked and puts you in danger.” He began. Shikachi nodded understandingly. “Secondly, it’s a bad idea to drink to the point where you can’t stand up. Again, dangerous. You’re less able to defend yourself if anything were to happen. That’s not even to mention that your depth perception is thrown off by the alcohol.” He rambled slightly. “Thirdly, Shikachi, you’re very young to be drinking in the amounts that you did last night. You’re fourteen and I’d feel a lot more comfortable if you waited a few more years before doing the heavy drinking.” He admitted. 

Shikachi took a minute to absorb everything said. “That makes a lot of sense.” She started, taking her time to formulate her response. “To be honest, I’m not sure I liked how out of control it made me feel– or the throwing up– definitely didn’t like the throwing up.” She admitted. “I think I’d feel a bit better if I waited a few years too.” 

Kakashi’s shoulders sagged in relief. “Thank God.” 

* * *

It felt like time had ran away from her as Shikachi picked Shikamaru up from the academy for the first time. He was the splitting image of their father, spiky ponytail and all. Soon enough he was waltzing up to her, not a care in the world.

“Where’s–” he yawned mid-sentence, “–mom?” 

“She’s working late today. What do you want for dinner?” _Please name a restaurant._ She didn’t say. 

“I don’t mind. We can just have something at home if you want.” The cursed child answered.

“How about ramen? Have you had that yet?” Shikachi redirected him.

“No. We can do that then.” Shikamaru agreed lackadaisically. 

Shikachi sagged in relief, walking reluctantly back to the Nara compound. They wouldn’t have dinner for a few hours regardless so she’d have to go there anyway, unfortunately. 

“What are you learning at the moment?” She asked curiously. 

Shikamaru shrugged. 

“Something about chakra.” 

Shikachi snorted. “Do you know the main chakra natures yet?” 

“Water, fire, wind, lightning and earth.” He listed off. 

“You wanna find out which is yours?” She offered. 

Another shrug. “Sure.” 

Shuffling around in her ninja pouch, she procured a single sheet of paper. 

“Channel your chakra into it.” She explained as she handed it over. 

Shikachi watched with bated breath as Shikamaru furrowed his eyebrows in concentration, taking a good few seconds to get his chakra to cooperate. When he finally got it, the paper crumbled to dirt. 

“Earth.” She said in relief. 

_Thank the gods._

All too soon they were arriving at the Nara compound, much to Shikachi’s disappointment. 

Shikamaru toed off his shoes haphazardly, wandering into the house and making a beeline for the Shogi board at the back of the house. Shikachi took off hers too and lined both pairs up neatly.

Following Shikamaru silently, she held her breath as she passed her father’s office. The door was closed, as usual, which she was thankful for.

“Play with me.” Shikamaru demanded, having already set up the board in the time it took her to cross the house. 

Quirking a smile, she sat cross-legged opposite Shikamaru, gesturing for him to go first. 

Shikachi found herself relaxing into the motions of the game, as easy as it was to play with little Shikamaru. It was clear from his style that he’d only really played against their father. They played countless games, everytime ending with Shikamaru losing and defiantly demanding _again._

As endearing as it was, they’d been at it for four hours. Shikachi could tell because she heard the tell tale click of the front door’s latch and her father’s heavy, over pronounced footsteps making their way across the house towards their position. 

When Shikaku finally appeared, Shikamaru whined, tugging on the leg of the man’s trousers petulantly, “Tou-san~” he drew out, “help me.” A pout joined the cute act. 

Shikachi did her very best to look at her brother; and not her so-called _father._

“You’ve already lost.” The man said gruffly. 

“But I’m only two moves in!” Shikamaru argued. 

Shikachi snorted at the boy’s innocence. 

“Exactly.” Shikaku replied cryptically. 

“Come on Shika, it’s time I introduced you to ramen.” Shikachi distracted Shikamaru, standing abruptly. Shikaku moved aside instinctively as she made her way past him, not even acknowledging him.

She waited outside the front door for her brother, who re-emerged after a few minutes. 

“Is there something going on between you and Tou-san?” Shikamaru asked once they were out of the compound. 

Shikachi took a second to collect her thoughts, evaluating how much Shikamaru would comprehend. 

“When I was five it was discovered that I had the strongest lightning affinity for generations.” She began. 

Shikamaru listened intently as she glossed over her past. Chunin at six; Jonin at eight; ANBU at eleven; Lightning Specialist throughout. 

“I was pushed by everyone around me to be better. Tou-san was one of the most relentless– unforgiving.” She murmured. Shikamaru thought she looked so tired in that moment, exhausted beyond anyone’s understanding. 

They sat at a small stand called _Ichiraku_ where Shikachi ordered two bowls of miso ramen before continuing on. “Tou-san wants to make a Hokage out of me.” She concluded, rather simply.

“But that’s not what you want?” Shikamaru inferred. 

“No,” she said, quiet and solemn, “it’s not.”

* * *

After dropping Shikamaru home, Shikachi had all of five minutes to herself before an ANBU operative was dropping from the rooftops to the street she was occupying.

“Nara Shikachi?” An affirmative nod. “The Hokage would like to see you– it’s urgent.” 

Blending into the shadows, she made her way across the village, reaching the Hokage Tower in under a minute. Kakashi was waiting inside their leader’s office, standing to attention. Shikachi bowed, a soft murmur of _Hokage-sama_ leaving her lips instinctually. 

“Thank you both for coming so quickly. I have a mission that requires your _expertise._ ” The man said intently. “We have an escaped prisoner from the secure facility. Kill on sight.” 

With that, the Jonin bowed once more and made their way out of the Hokage’s office. They only made it a couple strides out the door before they came to an abrupt halt. 

“Ah, Kakashi-san,” an old man smiled and it made Shikachi’s stomach stir uneasily, “and this must be Nara Shikachi.” 

Kakashi stepped forward, partially blocking Shikachi from view. 

“Yes, she is. Shikachi, this is Councilman Shimura. I hate to cut this short but we have an urgent matter to attend to, if you’ll excuse us.” Kakashi said curtly, making sure he put himself between Danzo and his partner at all times. 

Shikachi bowed shallowly. “It was a pleasure to meet you, Councilman Shimura.” She murmured, diplomatic as ever. 

They rushed out of the tower, heading in the direction of the secure prison that resided on the edge of the village.

“Stay away from him.” Kakashi warned.

“You two got history together?” Shikachi asked sardonically. 

The pair stopped outside the prison. Kakashi crouched down, summoning Pakkun and taking a whiff of the air. 

Standing again, he turned north-west, towards the wall. “Let’s just say he has his fingers in too many pies.” He said, eyes sliding over his partners form lazily. 

Shikachi pressed her lips together firmly.

“We’ll go with our usual plan. Hokage-sama briefed me before you arrived. It’s just an A-rank, fire type.” Kakashi said, letting Pakkun take the lead. 

They ran in silence for all of thirty minutes before catching up to their target where Kakashi summoned the rest of the pack. 

_Herd._

He signed to the dogs before turning to Shikachi. 

_Don’t miss._

Shikachi rolled her eyes as she saw the tale-tell crescent pinch in Kakashi’s eye. 

The pack cornered their target, making landing the final blow all too easy. They were back within an hour. All that remained of their target laid in a matchbox, handed to the Hokage upon their return. 

Making it back to Kakashi’s apartment, they showered, ordered takeout and crashed on the bed like usual. A normal day in their household. 

* * *

Shikachi woke up to a scroll waiting for her outside Kakashi’s apartment, the Nara clan symbol engraved on the object innocently. Scowling, she opened it, and read the contents with growing displeasure. 

A summons, from the Nara Clan Head– her father. 

Methodically, she dressed in her full uniform; as if preparing for battle and made her way down the familiar paths to her childhood home. She found Shikaku in his office. 

“Give me a minute.” He said, bunching up his paperwork into an organised mess before leading her to the back garden. 

The shogi board sat in its usual place, the pieces set up for a new game. They would be here a while. The pair of them kneeled and Shikachi regarded the board. She moved a footsoldier and waited. 

They played in silence for at least twenty minutes before her father decided to breach the topic of her summons.

“I want you to start taking on your responsibilities of the clan.” He ploughed on, not waiting for her response, “Now that you’re out of ANBU, it’s time for you to start shadowing me at the clan and council meetings.” He continued, rattling on about etiquette and traditions that she’d need to learn before the clan elders approved of her. 

“I don’t want that.” She cut him off. 

His eyes darted to her sharply. 

“You don’t have a choice. You are the heir and you will act like it.” He said matter-of-factly. He wasn’t slouching now. 

She moved another piece on the board, taking his silver general. 

“I never asked to be the heir. I never asked for any of this.” She argued.

“It is not a matter of ask or want. It is a privilege to be in the position you are in. This is a matter of honor, Shikachi.” He said firmly, moving one of his pieces. 

She promoted her knight.

“I don’t care. I don’t want to lead a clan that would sacrifice one of its members for the benefit of the rest.” She waved her hand blasely. 

Shikaku sighed, moving his gold general in one fluid motion. “You’re still hung up on that? I didn’t have a choice, Shikachi. You were and _still are_ Konoha’s only Lightning Specialist. I could not refuse the Hokage’s orders.” 

_“You could have tried!”_ She hissed, slapping her gold general onto the board with renewed vigor. “You were offered the Hokage seat _twice._ Why didn’t you accept to gain more leverage in the village to protect me? Or refuse on pain of death. You are my father. It was your duty to protect me first, before following orders that would get me killed for the sake of _honor_.” Shikachi spat.

“Because that wasn’t the plan.” He said quietly, startling her. 

“Well sorry for derailing it again.” She muttered, placing her final piece into place. 

_Checkmate._

She stood up. “You can make Shikamaru the clan head for all I care. I no longer wish to be affiliated with the Nara. Don’t ask me to come here again.” 

And she walked away.

* * *

Of all the things Shikachi thought she would be doing at ten that morning, it was not storming into the Administration Building with so much fire in her eyes that the line of waiting ninja just let her go straight to the front.

“How do I remove myself from my clan?” 

The ninja behind the desk gaped like a fish. 

“You– I– _what?_ ” He spluttered. 

“What paperwork do I need to fill out to denounce myself from the Nara Clan?” She repeated, eerily calm. 

What followed was five very confused minutes before the Head of Administration came to meet her at the desk. Said ninja was an older woman, nearly in her fifties, hair almost entirely grey. 

“Follow me, Nara-san.” She said sternly, pivoting on her heel poignantly. 

Shikachi was led to a small office on the third floor of the building. 

“Are you sure you want to do this?” She asked. 

“Yes.” Shikachi answered curtly. That was sufficient for the woman, who nodded once and left to get the paperwork. When she returned, she placed a large stack of papers in front of the teen. 

“Take your time.” The woman walked out, shutting the door behind her with a soft _click._

“I hate paperwork.” She muttered before flying through the stack lightning fast. She’d learnt from the best, afterall. 

* * *

Shikachi arrived at Kakashi's apartment twenty minutes later with the remainder of her belongings. 

The man was lounging on the sofa, reading _Tales of a Gutsy Ninja._

“I’m moving in.” She stated, dropping the box of items on the bed with a small _thump._

Kakashi looked at her, confusion floating in his eyes. “I thought you already lived here?” He asked more than said. 

Her shoulders relaxed slightly at his easy acceptance of their living situation. “I denounced myself from the Nara Clan.” She mumbled, knowing that Kakashi would hear her clearly with his hearing anyway. 

“Okay. If you ever want to join the Hatake, just let me know.” He offered as if he was taking her out to eat. 

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Shikachi nodded, “thanks.” She added belatedly. 

* * *

Word of what happened spread across the village like wildfire. Shikaku knew, as soon as he stepped into his office, that everything had changed. _He was the Jonin Commander._ He repeated like a mantra. Holding his head high, he reached his desk, overflowing with paper work. 

With a sigh, he grabbed the stacks and, one by one, moved them to the surrounding floor until there was just one remaining. 

First, mission reports. 

Hours went by as he ploughed through report after report, taking note of weak points in the border patrols and where each of his shinobi were stationed. 

A knock at the door broke him out of his focused state. His assistant entered, bowing slightly before straightening.

“Sir, would you like me to do anything?” She asked. The way she spoke and her posture did not belie her opinion of him– and yet, he could still feel that she was judging him. 

“Could you move these to the archives?” Shikaku requested, gesturing to the multiple stacks of mission reports he’d cleared through already. “And, let the Hokage know that the Sound border needs more regular patrols. I suggest pulling men from Iron and some from Hot Water. I have it in writing too–here” He ordered, handing the woman a scroll before picking up another stack of papers.

“Are you sure that’s wise, sir?” She questioned. 

He set the papers down on his desk and furrowed his eyebrows. 

“Do you have an opinion on the matter?” Shikaku asked, mildly surprised. 

After a moment of hesitation, she approached the wall where his map hung. “Iwa is a bigger threat than Kumo at the moment, from what I’ve learned. Surely it would make more sense to take more men from Hot Water and leave the majority in Iron in case of further attacks from that direction?” 

“It would make sense.” He agreed, dumbfounded. “Give me that scroll. I’ll amend it.” 

After a few minutes, the stacks of paperwork were cut in half and he was alone again. Glancing at the clock, he sighed; he needed to get lunch. 

_He was the Jonin Commander._ He repeated as he exited the Hokage Tower, feeling the eyes of every Konoha citizen surveying him. 

“Shikaku!” A voice called out. Turning towards the voice, he found Inoichi and Chouza across the street, the latter waving happily. He ambled over, putting on the pretense of relaxation. 

“You hungry? We can eat at mine.” Chouza decided for Shikaku, wrapping an arm around the man’s shoulders and dragging him along.

Five minutes later, they were sat in the Akimichi main house in silence. There was no food. 

“We heard what happened.” Inoichi broached the topic brazenly. “Shikaku look at me.” Shikaku met Inoichi’s eyes and flinched from the fury they held. “I don’t care about the details. She was your daughter.” Inoichi ground his teeth together at Shikaku’s impassiveness, “She was your daughter _, goddammit!”_ He slammed his fist against the table, letting his palm lie flat and leaning on the table with a sneer, “This is a warning, Shikaku. You’re on thin ice. One more misstep and there won’t be an Ino-Shika-Cho alliance. Am I clear?” 

“Yes.” Shikaku answered, eyes downcast. 

Chouza stood with a grunt.

“I’ll show you out. I expect you have lots of work to be getting on with.” The large man said stoically, waiting for Shikaku to go first. 

Silently, he left the Akimichi compound, walking numbly to his office. He collapsed in his chair with a groan. He didn’t get lunch. 

In his absence the paperwork had doubled. With a sigh, he reached for the stack on his desk. 

Hours went by before he left the office; out of the tower at five minutes to seven like clockwork. Entering the Nara compound, he felt so inexplicably tired. He now had to face his clan; a meeting he'd been dreading all day. 

The clan elder was waiting for him in his home, taking up the lounge like he owned the place. 

“Shikaku, take a seat.” Enchu ordered. 

The man complied readily, taking up a seiza opposite his advisor. 

“What you have done is a disgrace to this clan.” He stated. “I question whether you are still fit to lead us” Shikaku tensed. “However, I believe replacing you would cause more political upheaval right now. What we need to focus on is damage control. Shikamaru is to be the heir and you will begin training him immediately. The boy is years behind his sister and will need to make up for the lost time as soon as possible. Shikaku,” he paused, looking severely troubled, “you have one more chance.” And with that, the man let himself out. 

_He was the Jonin Commander._

_Was._

* * *

Shikaku found himself sitting behind his desk, numbly staring down at the damning papers. The unassuming documents declaring his daughter no longer _his._ He clenched his hands, fighting the urge to do something–anything _._ He thought of all those years with Shikachi, training her into the ground, of moments he could've done better, but didn't; and wondered if he could subject his son to the same treatment. 

Swallowing his pride, he signed his name; declaring Nara Shikamaru the heir.

This time, he would get it right. 

* * *

They met like usual in the dead of night, deep in the redwoods outside the village walls. When Shikachi arrived, Mikoto grabbed her student's hands, drawing the teen in close. The woman’s eyes were wide and frantic.

“I need to tell you– before something happens.” Mikoto hissed.

Shikachi gripped her sensei’s hands back. “Tell me what?” 

“About Shisui,” Shikachi stilled. Mikoto looked at her intensely. “Officially, Shisui committed suicide.”

“And unofficially?” She murmured. 

“We think he was murdered–” Mikoto answered, hands tightening in their iron-clad grip. "–by someone inside the village.” 

“What– why?” Shikachi stuttered, clearly startled.

“When he was found, he didn’t have any eyes.” Mikoto said. Her eyes looked as haunted as a dead man. Alarm bells rang off like the blaring sirens of a village attack, louder and louder inside Shikachi’s head. Her heart pounded as she refused to say what it meant.

_Bloodline theft._

The woman proceeded to pull out a scroll, pushing it into Shikachi’s hands determinedly.

“I’ve changed the clan will.” She declared. “When it happens, I need you to read this and abide by what has been asked of you.” 

Shikachi stuttered as she pocketed the item. “When _what_ happens? _Sensei–_ ” 

“Two things, Shikachi.” Mikoto paused, taking a moment to ensure she had her pupil's full, undivided attention. “Firstly, when I die, make sure my eyes are destroyed.” She pulled out a piece of used chakra paper from her pocket, placing it in Shikachi’s hand knowingly. “Secondly, take care of Sasuke.”

Her sensei stepped back, waiting for Shikachi to burn the paper. When she did, Mikoto nodded.

“It’s time for your final lesson.”

* * *

They were attempting the Great Fire Annihilation Jutsu, a B-rank fire jutsu that was said to be one of the greatest Uchiha fire techniques created. It only used the sign for Horse and involved kneading the chakra inside your body before expelling it in a sea of flames. 

It was an exercise in chakra control more than anything, as was proven very quickly. Mikoto had, at some point, procured the original scrolls of Madara Uchiha. Having mastered the technique years before, she was able to direct her student with relative ease. 

“The hand sign is both for focus and to help convert your chakra to fire.” Mikoto explained in a hushed murmur, standing so close to Shikachi that the teen could feel every breath she exhaled, just brushing against her skin in pin pricks. She committed the feeling to memory diligently. 

They spent the following hours working through the technique. Shikachi wasn’t a prodigy for nothing, having gotten the basics of the jutsu down by the time the sun graced the sky in burning reds and blushing pinks; blending into fluffy clouds and glowing rays seamlessly. 

Before they parted, Mikoto kissed her student's forehead. Their final goodbye. 

* * *

The following night, Kakashi and Shikachi were laying together on their bed, enjoying each other's company. It wasn’t often that they got to spend time together lately. They were both reading their respective books; Kakashi, _Tales of a Gutsy Ninja_ , for the second time; Shikachi, a little book detailing the Fourth Raikage’s signature jutsu, Lightning Release: Armour. 

Placing her book face down on her lap, Shikachi turned to her partner with a small frown. 

“When are you leaving ANBU? I miss my partner.” She half-whined. 

"Soon." A smile tugged at the edges of Kakashi’s lips. “I’m hoping to make Itachi captain and we’ve got a new recruit coming in to fill in the last place in the next month or so.”

Shikachi hummed, resting her chin on Kakashi’s arm. “What if I told you I had a bad feeling about something?” 

“I would tell you to trust your gut.” He answered easily. 

She frowned. “What if it was to do with the Uchiha?” 

“Then I would say your fears are probably warranted.” Kakashi said cryptically. And yet, Shikachi understood perfectly. 

* * *

Shikachi waited in the ANBU locker room for Kakashi’s team to return, a regular occurrence nowadays. Kakashi smiled at her when he walked in, caked in blood from head to toe. 

“How’d the mission go?” She asked innocently as Kakashi began stripping his armour off with a grunt. 

He scrunched his nose up at the growing pile, knowing he’d never really get all the blood out of the garments. “Successful. Did the Commander see you?” 

“Not yet,” Shikachi chirped, “but I’m not here for you.” She swiveled towards her target with an impenetrable smile. 

“Itachi-kun!” She greeted. 

The stoic teen nodded at her. “Shikachi-senpai, what can I do for you?” 

It was Shikachi’s turn to scrunch up her nose, curling her mouth up in disgust.

“Ugh, don’t call me that. It makes me feel old.” She prefaced. “How about I take you out for some food?” 

“I promised Sasuke I would pick him up from the academy if I made it back before the end of the day.” Itachi tried to weasel his way out. 

“That’s perfect! I need to pick Shikamaru up as well- they can come with us. My treat.” Her eyes pinched into crescents, so reminiscent of her partner, the resemblance was uncanny. 

Knowing a losing battle when he saw one, he agreed. “Let me shower first and then we can go.”

With a nod, Shikachi focussed back on Kakashi.

“Are you hurt?” She asked, not being able to smell anything over the stench of the team's blood-soaked clothes. 

“No, it was a clean kill.” Kakashi answered. 

Shikachi looked him up and down and then cocked a brow..

“Clean, huh?” She said, voice dripping with sarcasm.

“There were a lot of targets.” He said diplomatically.

Shikachi searched Kakashi’s eyes for a moment, waiting for the man to shake his head before standing into a stretch. 

“Itachi-kun! Are you almost ready?” She called, acutely aware of the Commander’s footsteps getting closer to their location. 

Said man appeared in the doorway, arms folded and looking like a disappointed parent.

“Shikachi, what are you doing in here?” He asked, cocking an eyebrow and leaning against the doorframe with a sigh.

“I got lost and couldn’t find my way out. Itachi-kun here offered to show me the way once he changed out of his uniform.” She lied through her teeth. 

“Uhuh, sure.” He took the bold-faced lie with a roll of his eyes before focusing on Kakashi for a report. 

Shikachi zoned out Kakashi’s verbal report as Itachi reappeared, freshly showered and in clean clothes. 

The Commander ignored the fact that Shikachi led Itachi out of the base, deciding to pick his battles with the Jonin wisely. 

The pair made their way to the academy at a leisurely pace.

“How are you finding ANBU?” Shikachi murmured, tilting her head to get a proper look at the teen. The top of his head just grazed her nose. He would be taller than her in a year, she noted. Her little Itachi-kun was growing up.

He deflected. “It is different from the regular forces.” 

She hummed non-committedly, “It is,” she agreed, “Do you like it?” 

For all the boy had perfected his expressions, Shikachi caught the brief flicker of hesitation.

“I don’t know.” He admitted. 

“Do you like being a ninja, Itachi-kun?” She followed.

His silence was answer enough. 

They arrived at the academy, blending with the crowd of parents easily. 

Soon enough the area was flooding with small children, all buzzing from their days. When their class came out, Sasuke found Itachi easily, racing over to his brother excitedly. Shikachi held an amused smile as Shikamaru trailed behind most of his classmates. Sasuke was already recounting his school day when Shikamaru arrived. 

“Hey, how was school?” Shikachi asked. 

Her brother merely shrugged. “Boring, I still don’t get why they have to teach us most of the stuff that they do.” He grumbled.

“You’ll get it some day–I’m sure.” She reassured him before turning to Itachi. “You two ready to go?” 

“Shikachi-nee-san!” Sasuke greeted happily. “Wait, where are we going?” He looked between the Jonin with a small pout. 

“I wanted to take you out to eat. Does barbeque sound good?” She explained easily.

Sasuke took her hand in his, Itachi in the other, and pulled them along. Shikachi slung her arm around Shikamaru’s shoulders before he could escape the social gathering and they were off. 

Once they made it to the restaurant, Shikamaru and Sasuke talked animatedly about the shinobi wars. It was apparent to Shikachi that Konoha's education system seeked to glorify the events of the past. Only speak of the victories; to bolster the patriotism in young hearts and minds. 

The pair detailed about the successes of Kannabi bridge, and Shikachi remembered Kakashi's face at the funeral. 

They then went on to talk about the skirmishes in the east, with Kumo. Shikamaru's eyes sparkled as he talked about how Konoha defeated them, recalling descriptions of formations used to take down Kumo's famed Lightning Specialists. 

_Formations_.

There were none. It was a sprint to the finish, of burns that still left Shikachi itching, of the tree that still crushes her in her sleep.

The boys mentioned the armistice that was signed between Iwa and Konoha, signalling the Leaf's victory. _And yet_ , Shikachi thought bitterly, _why has the Hokage_ **_still_ ** _not asked for reparations?_

Shikachi recounted her rendition of the Third Shinobi war, explained that it was more a battle of attrition than a clear-cut victory. All sides were losing soldiers faster than they could produce them, and it wasn't as if their militaries were vastly different in size.

She went on to explain that the formations they were learning were just the basic building blocks for their own strategies in the future. That the plan her team had used, all those years ago with Darui and her at the centre, was a mad dash across the mud; it depended on Shikachi's size and appearance and they just hoped she wouldn't be cut down before she could make contact with her target. 

They were quieter after that, digesting the new information at pace with their food.

Shikamaru frowned at her later that night as she tucked him into bed. 

"I understand why they don't teach us about the bad parts. But is it right? To erase a whole portion of history?" He asked insightfully. 

Shikachi smiled. "Something you'll learn soon enough is that: history is written by the victors." 

Watching the cogs turn behind her brother's tired eyes, she stood and made her way to the door. 

Looking at him, so deep in thought, she thought he looked like _him_. The Jonin Commander.

* * *

A year later saw Shikachi waiting excitedly for Kakashi inside the ANBU headquarters. After this, he would be reinstated as a full Jonin of Konoha, and her partner on all missions. To say she was excited was the understatement of the century. 

He was the last to enter, clearly letting Itachi take point on the way back. 

Shikachi squealed as he cleared the doors, leaping up and engulfing him in a deathly-tight hug. “You’re back!” She cheered. 

Kakashi chuckled, wrapping his arms around her firmly. 

“Let me shower first and then we can go eat.” He said, letting her down gently. 

“M’kay I’ll–”

“–Shikachi how many times do I–” The Commander’s voice rang out down the hall, filled with exasperation. 

“–I’ll meet you at the BBQ place!” Shikachi shouted before bolting out the headquarters, not wanting to face another one of the Commander’s lectures. 

They caught up over barbeque, with Shikachi filling Kakashi in on internal changes whilst he told her about what was happening outside fire country. The pair decided they would attempt to negotiate more off time between missions now that they were both seasoned Jonin. 

She couldn’t wait.

* * *

They went on one mission together before he appeared. It was around two in the afternoon, July 22nd. 

Shikachi was training deep in the redwoods of Konoha, just some simple katas by the river to pass the time. Her blades sliced through the air one last time before being sheathed at her thighs.

“Itachi-kun,” Shikachi recognised, turning towards him with a smile, “what can I do for you?” Her breath hitched. There he stood, in his full ANBU gear, as if ready for battle.

“I was supposed to pick up Sasuke from school today. However, a mission has come up and I must leave immediately. Would you mind looking after him instead?” He asked, voice measured with every word.

She nodded. “Of course I can.” Readjusting her bindings, she turned her back to him.

“And Shikachi-senpai? Please don’t bring Sasuke home. Anywhere but the compound.” 

Shikachi could hear the hints of desperation in his voice. 

“I told you not to call me Senpai.” She mumbled.

“Thank you, Senpai.”

He vanished in a sea of feathers. 

Taking a deep breath, Shikachi closed her eyes. She had an hour, maybe less. Within a minute she was inside the Uchiha compound, slipping inside the main house from the back and meeting her sensei in the kitchen. She stood at the edge of the doorway. 

“Shikachi-chan?” The woman turned around.

“It’s today– Sensei it’s– he– I–” Shikachi fumbled, tumbling past the threshold, hands and shoulders shaking. 

Mikoto hushed her pupil, pulling her into a warm embrace. “It’s okay. You’ll be okay.” 

She sobbed, burying her face in the crook of the woman’s neck.

“Shikachi, look at me.” Mikoto cupped the teens face, wiping her tears gently. “You have grown up to be a beautiful kunoichi. I am sorry to burden you when you are so young, but please, look after Sasuke. He will need your guidance now more than ever.” Withdrawing her arms from her students face, she went through the motions of unbuckling her knives and rig from her thighs. “Take my knives. They are yours to bear.” 

Shikachi grabbed the blades, still in their sheaths, and felt her world shatter around her.

“Now go.” 

Turning her back, she left the same way she came, darting into the redwoods in shuddering, heaving breaths. She collapsed by the river. Knees digging into the dirt, she took the time to collect herself. Mechanically, she removed her rig, replacing it within the same minute with her Sensei’s blades. 

She spent the next thirty minutes counting her breaths like all her therapy sessions had taught her. In for four, hold for seven, out for eight. Again, until all that remained was the bone deep exhaustion she always felt, tear tracks no longer red and blotchy, and yet still searing as if they were fresh. 

Standing at the academy gates, she didn’t remember the walk over, completely in a haze. Joining the other parents, she saddled up next to her own mother with an effortless smile. It was always easy to lie to her, to pretend that everything was fine. 

“You here for Shikamaru?” Yoshino asked, mildly surprised. 

Shikachi laughed breathlessly. “No, actually. I’m here for–” She was cut off by the crowd of children bustling into the area. Sasuke came bounding out, smiling wide before scanning the crowd and letting his expression drop in disappointment. “–Sasuke-kun!” Shikachi shouted, waving a hand for good measure. The boy zeroed in on her like a hawk and was on her in seconds, wrapping tight around her waist.

“Shikachi-nee-san!” He chirped. “Where’s Aniki?” 

“He was given a mission last minute so you’re with me for the night.” She lied. It was as easy as breathing. 

Sasuke frowned, clearly upset. 

“C’mon~ what’s with the face? How about some training?” She offered. 

As if flipping a switch, he lit up and grabbed Shikachi’s hand, pulling her along excitedly. She tried not to dwell on Shikamaru’s disheartened face as she followed. 

They spent the next couple of hours together in a training ground nearby her and Kakashi’s apartment, going through simple katas to pass the time. Staying on high alert, she managed to coax the boy back to her apartment without much fuss. Once there, she checked every window and door before activating the defensive seals

“Shikachi-nee-san!” Sasuke whined, flopping onto his back dramatically. “I’m bored.” He pouted. 

“How about we finish off any homework you have and then I’ll show you a cool chakra trick?” It worked like a treat, the boy’s workbooks out on the table within seconds. 

Another hour and Sasuke was bouncing in his seat, eagerly awaiting his reward. 

“Show me! Show me!” He demanded. 

“They’ve taught you all the hand signs right?” Shikachi checked. Sasuke nodded enthusiastically. “Ok, this jutsu is called Spark. All it requires is the Ram seal–” she showed the hand sign as she spoke, “–and you get this.” She let a small spark release from the tip of her fingers and revelled in Sasuke’s gasp. 

Eyes wide, he brought his hands together. Almost instantaneously, sparks released from his fingers. 

“Did you see that?!” 

Shikachi’s heart swelled with pride. She wondered if that was what Mikoto felt like, all those years ago, and allowed herself a small second to grieve the coming loss. 

“I did! But–” she drew his attention raptly, “–you can’t let anyone know I taught you this. I’ll get in trouble and we can’t have that.” She winked with a sly grin. Sasuke giggled at their little secret, still bouncing in his seat despite his growing fatigue. 

Eventually, she managed to get him to bed, the boy passing into unconsciousness just minutes before Kakashi walked through the door. 

“I need your help.” Shikachi whispered, feeling the wards hold strong as Kakashi locked the door.

“Anything.” He answered explicitly. 

“Make me a Hatake.” She demanded. 

Dropping his vest silently, he toed across the door, riffling through some papers before placing them before his partner. 

“Read it and sign at the bottom. I already filled out the rest.” Kakashi murmured lowly, taking a seat next to her and siphoning her body heat selfishly. Leaning into his slouched form, she took the time to skim through the document. It mainly contained Hatake Clan laws and was essentially a contract of agreement to abide by said laws. Her breath hitched as she read the final page. 

_Hatake Clan Matriarch, Hatake Shikachi._

She signed unhesitatingly. 

Kakashi’s signature rested at the bottom, already there. Shikachi wondered for how long he’d had the document like this. It didn’t matter now. 

“We should bring this to the Clan meeting in the morning.” She said, without explaining. 

His eye narrowed. “What meeting?”

Jerking her head backwards towards Sasuke was enough. “It’s happening tonight.” 

Kakashi hummed. 

“You have my support– no matter what. We do this together.” He declared. 

“Thank you.” Shikachi breathed, completely melting into his side and going boneless as he enveloped her. 

“Rest, you’re going to need your strength for tomorrow.” Kakashi mumbled, resting his head on hers. 

Shikachi didn’t even remember falling asleep. She startled awake to a harsh knock on their apartment door. The sun just tearing its way into the sky as Kakashi opened the door, Shikachi staying back with Sasuke. 

“Shikachi and Hatake Kakashi?” A maskless ANBU asked.

“Hatake Shikachi.” Kakashi corrected defensively. 

“You are to report to the Hokage immediately.” They said, vanishing wordlessly afterwards. 

A small groan came from where Sasuke laid, cocooned in blankets. 

“Sasuke-kun,” Shikachi coaxed, “we need to go somewhere. Do you think you could sit up for me? Kakashi here will carry you.” With a petulant whine, Sasuke sat up. Kakashi hoisted the boy into his arms effortlessly and the pair were off, speeding to the tower in record time. 

Outside the Hokage’s was Genma, walking out solemnly. 

“Genma! Could you look after Sasuke for us? We can’t take him in.” Shikachi called out. Genma blinked and his hands were full of a sleeping Sasuke. 

Walking through the doors, Shikachi steeled herself. 

“Hokage-sama.” The pair said, bowing simultaneously. 

He looked more like an old man than a Hokage in that moment. 

Shikachi held her breath. 

“Uchiha Itachi has murdered the Uchiha Clan and fled Konohagakure.” He rumbled out, concise as ever. 

Counting, in four, hold seven, out eight, she controlled her breathing. 

She withdrew a scroll and placed it on the man’s desk. Taking one last breath, she repeated what she had practiced for this very moment. “As the declared next of kin to the Uchiha Clan and Uchiha Sasuke, I, Hatake Shikachi, request guardianship of Uchiha Sasuke and that I alone have access to the Uchiha compound in order to carry out the funeral rites as detailed in Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Mikoto’s joint will.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> phew boy this has been a wild ride
> 
> Added 09/10/20: Hello everyone! I probably should've said this a month ago but I've just started university and have had a lot of things go wrong in the last two weeks, from bad housemates to seeing the police and having to move again tomorrow for my own sanity. My life is finally starting to come back together thankfully and I'm hoping once I'm settled in my new place of residence that I'll be able to start writing the next chapter of this fic. My aim is halloween for chapter 8 but don't hold me to that if things fall back into disarray :3 hope you're all doing good in these trying times and that you're staying safe <3


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy spooky season~
> 
> This is my longest chapter yet, I hope you enjoy it!

The room erupted into chaos. Raising a single hand, quiet settled over the ninja present. Shikachi waited with bated-breath, feeling Kakashi move infinitesimally closer to her in support. 

“Apart from you two,” The old man gestured to Shikachi and Kakashi. “everyone out.” He waved his hand out brazenly. 

They waited until even the ANBU hidden the offices alcove had vacated before putting up a set of wards. It was only then, that Hiruzen spoke. 

“ _ Hatake  _ Shikachi?” He eyed them sharply. 

“We signed the paperwork last night. Shikachi is the Hatake Clan Matriarch.” Kakashi answered curtly. 

Hiruzen nodded. “Thank you for informing me. Now, onto the topic at hand. Are you sure you want to do this?” He looked back at Shikachi. 

“Yessir.” She responded self-assuredly. 

He sighed, leaning back in his chair and wiping a hand down his wrinkled face. Looking at him like this, a resounding thought passed through her mind.  _ Too old.  _ The man in front of her was too old. To be having this conversation with them, to be commanding a militia, to be Hokage. Perhaps they were right, in making that list of candidates, of putting her and her partner at the top. 

“Shikachi-chan, you’re only sixteen. Personally, speaking as a father and a grandfather, I think you’re too young to be looking after a child, especially one like Sasuke, who will no doubt have unique needs.” He said. 

“I am aware of my age, Hokage-sama. But I am an adult under Konoha law. Sasuke wouldn’t just be my charge. He’d be under the Hatake and Kakashi is twenty-two and perfectly capable of helping look after a child.” She reasoned, but she could tell he was unconvinced. 

“And how would you look after Sasuke? The pair of you spend more time outside the village than in it.” The Hokage questioned. 

Shikachi straightened her shoulders again. “With respect Hokage-sama, I would ask that you reduce both of our mission intakes in order to allow for at least one of us to be in the village with Sasuke at any one time. In addition to this, we would need to request a leave of absence for at least a month.” 

“You’re both incredibly valuable to this village. To reduce your mission intake would be a great loss.” He stated. 

“It is either that, or I can resign as a shinobi of Konoha.” Shikachi said, almost making the choice for him. 

He refused the idea. “You can’t resign. We don’t have another Lightning Specialist.” 

“And Sasuke doesn’t have another family.” She stated. 

With a frown, the Hokage sighed. 

“Okay, if– _ if _ – you are granted custody, I will make all the necessary adjustments to your schedules. There is no need for any resignations. I’ll arrange for a Clans Meeting to be held at midday. We will discuss it further there. Dismissed.” 

* * *

They made quite a showing, the Clan Heads. Aburame, Akimichi, Hatake, Hyuuga, Inuzuka, Kurama, Nara, Sarutobi, Shimura, Yamanaka. The Hatake were the only ones with both their matriarch and patriarch present. A few seats remained empty: the Senju, the Uzumaki, and the Uchiha. 

At noon, Shikachi found herself facing her father.

“I’ve called you all here to discuss the case of Uchiha Sasuke’s guardianship. The Hatake have laid claim to the boy.” Hiruzen began the meeting. 

He gestured to Shikachi, clearly letting her make her case. 

She took a breath. “As detailed in Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Mikoto’s will, I, Hatake Shikachi, am the sole next of kin to Uchiha Sasuke. In addition to this, I have been asked to carry out the funeral rites for those deceased– but we can discuss that later. I, and by extension, the Hatake, would like guardianship of Sasuke.” 

“Perhaps it would be more pertinent for Kakashi-dono to speak for the Hatake?” Danzo questioned. 

“Shikachi speaks for the Hatake and for me.” Kakashi snapped.

The table collectively held its breath at the created tension. 

Tsume grinned. “Oh I think our clans are going to get on just fine.”

Hiashi ploughed on, ignoring Tsume expertly. “What guarantee would we have that the Hatake would be the best place for the boy? Perhaps a clan with more experience with looking after children would be better suited. For example, the Hyuuga, or the Nara.” He tested. 

Taking a second, she swallowed the snapping remark just waiting to leap off her tongue. 

“I admit, the Hatake may have less experience with childcare then some others here. However, whilst I personally cannot speak on the Hyuuga’s ability, I would advise against placing any child with the Nara.” She cut through the room expertly. 

Perhaps she shouldn’t’ve been trying to antagonise her father, but she didn’t go into the meeting expecting him to be on her side. 

“Surely the Nara are not  _ that  _ inadequate– to produce a fine kunoichi such as yourself.” Hiashi countered her with all the finesse of a Hyuuga. 

Shikachi quirked a smile. “I’m flattered, however I would ascribe my development to my partner, my time in ANBU and my Sensei.” 

She redirected them back to the matter at hand.

“Now, I’m sure if the Hatake did have any questions or issues, that the other clans here would be more than willing to lend a hand. After all, we all serve Konoha and good clan relations are vital to a smoothly running village.” She looked pointedly at the tattooed woman at the head of the Inuzuka. “I would be grateful for any advice.” 

The older woman smiled roguishly, placing a hand on the head of her ninken. 

“I’m sure that can be arranged, Hatake-dono.” 

She turned back to the sea of male faces. It seemed she had found at least one ally in the room.

“Irregardless of that matter, I am sure that you’re also interested in how Sasuke will be trained. Firstly, Kakashi has a working sharingan. He will be the most capable person in the village to train Sasuke with his sharingan once it develops.” She drummed her fingers against the table, before raising her next point.

“Secondly, my genin team was composed solely of Uchiha–sans myself. Once Sasuke feels ready to look at the scrolls within the Uchiha compound on their techniques, I’m confident I would be able to teach and guide him in perfecting said techniques in both tai and ninjutsu.” She took another breath.

“Should he be so inclined towards genjutsu, not only would Kakashi be able to help him, but I'm sure there are other esteemed jonin within the village that would be more than happy to take Sasuke on as an apprentice, once he was ready.” She made her case. 

“Are there any other questions for the Hatake?” Hiruzen asked. When there were none, he continued to the penultimate part of their meeting. “Very well then. Those in favour, please make yourselves known. Those against, likewise.” 

A minute passed in silence before a voice piped up. “The Inuzuka stand with the Hatake.” 

Shibi nodded his head, pushing his sunglasses up. “The Aburame also stand with the Hatake. Why? Because we believe their claim to be valid.” 

“The Hyuuga stand with the Hatake.” Hiashi gracefully followed . 

From the other end of the table, Danzo cleared his throat with a scowl. 

“The Shimura stand against the Hatake.” He announced distastefully. 

“The Kurama stand against the Hatake.” Muragumo said. 

Hiruzen looked down at the table with a frown. “The Sarutobi stand against the Hatake.” 

And then there were three. 

They all looked to Shikaku. Shikachi held her breath. 

Making eye contact with her, he broke the silence. “The Nara stand with the Hatake.” 

“The Yamanaka stand with the Hatake.” Inoichi agreed with his teammate. 

“The Akimichi stand with the Hatake.” Chouza completed their political triple block. 

“With six for and three against, the Hatake have been granted guardianship of Uchiha Sasuke.” Shikachi let out the breath she didn’t know she was holding, shoulders dropping in relief. “With the acceptance of your claim to the Uchiha, you may also carry out the funeral rites. That is all for this meeting.” Hiruzen concluded. 

Walking out of the room, Shikachi felt both so drained and invigorated all at once. One obstacle down, a million to go. 

In the Hokage’s office was an exhausted Genma with a tiny Sasuke jumping on the man’s chest, giggling at every little  _ oof  _ the man let out.

Shikachi faltered in the doorway. Could she do this? Shatter this little boys world? A hand found her shoulder, squeezing comfortingly in silent support. 

“Shikachi-nee-san!” Sasuke called, sprinting over to her and engulfing her around her middle. “Where’s Kaa-san?” 

_ Breathe. In four. Hold seven. Out eight. _

Bending down, she looked into his bright little eyes regretfully. 

_ You have your mother's eyes. _ She noticed for the first time, wishing she hadn’t. 

“Sasuke, something happened last night– at the compound.” Sensing the seriousness in her voice, he stopped bouncing on the balls of his feet. 

“What happened?” He asked, voice quieter now. 

_ In four. Hold seven. Out eight.  _

“Itachi– it’s believed that Itachi killed everyone in the Uchiha clan.” She said as clinically as possible. 

“E-everyone?” Sasuke’s voice shook. “What about kaa-san?” 

“Mikoto-sensei… she’s dead, Sasuke.” She said, barely a whisper. “I’m sorry.” 

And then he screamed. A loud, high-pitched shrill that had everyone wincing. Shikachi pulled him in for a hug, encircling him gently as he tried to push her away. Little fists pushing and banging against her chest, again and again as he sobbed against her. 

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”  _ that I couldn’t stop it.  _ She mumbled like a broken record. 

_ In four. Hold seven. Out eight. _

“I’m sorry.”

* * *

After what felt like an eternity, Sasuke cried himself into unconsciousness. She handed the boy off to Kakashi once they knew he wouldn’t stir. As much as she wanted to rest too, Shikachi knew she had more important matters to attend to. Her feet carried her to the Uchiha compound instinctively. On the edge of the gates, her skin crawled at the silence. She didn’t have a single memory of this place as  _ quiet.  _

Steeling herself, she began the walk through the main street. Holding her head high, she refused to look at the bodies. The smell was bad enough. She made it to the main house. The door was ajar already. Scared to touch anything, she shimmied through the small gap. 

She needed to get to the study. 

Rounding the corner of the hallway, she didn’t look away in time. There laid her sensei and the woman’s husband. They were folded over each other like dolls with their strings cut. Unarmed, Shikachi noted before she dropped to her knees. Retching up nothing but the burning yellow of bile. Heaving until all that was left were tears, she shuddered on the floor for a few minutes.

Pulling herself to her feet, she wiped her face with the edge of her sleeve, not caring for the leftover sheen of fluids that she didn’t quite reach. The study was untouched. Preemptively, she apologised to the dead Clan Head as she began rifling through the man’s documents. Scroll after scroll until she found what she was looking for. 

The clan registry. 

She needed to check that every person– every corpse– was here. Not only because she needed to make sure they burned on the pyre, but also because of what Mikoto-sensei told her about Shisui. 

_ When he was found, he didn’t have any eyes. _

Gripping the scroll with white-knuckles, she still couldn’t stop her hands shaking as she passed the lounge again; eyes clenched shut as she went by the doorway. Emerging from the house, she gasped the air only to be met with the same stench of bodies and blood and whatever else the people had released upon their deaths. 

She sobbed. 

_ Breathe.  _ She chanted fruitlessly. 

Once she regained control of her breathing, she tried to clear her head and focus. 

She didn’t know every Uchiha by name. So, she was going to look for the dogtags that should’ve been around most of the clans necks, whether from the regular forces or from the police force. There was the issue of people who carried multiple dogtags, like herself. Most Uchiha police also carried a badge with their ID on it, simplifying the matter. Otherwise, she’d have to cross reference with the list of already deceased prior to the massacre. Then there was the fact that not all Uchiha were ninja. 

In essence, it was a mammoth of a task– one that required a clinical approach. Drawing on her ANBU training, she detached herself from the moment. Just like a mission. 

Mikoto’s voice haunted her as she checked every body.

_ When he was found, he didn’t have any eyes. _

Some of the clan had closed their eyes before passing, which meant Shikachi had to pry the lids apart, one by one, peering into a glassy grey film that would haunt her forever. 

Each eye was unique in its own way– be that the shape and curve of the lid, or the way they still leaked blood from the corners in the aftermath of battle– sharingan still activated, but eerily still in a way she'd never seen it. 

Most were wide open, as if caught in an infinite tsukuyomi. Except all they were trapped in now was death. 

And yet, despite her suspicions, every single corpse had its eyes. 

Entering every home to check for bodies had her wanting to throw up again. Thankfully, most of the houses were empty. 

If they were in the houses, they were normally in the bedroom.

The first child she found was slumped over in a wardrobe, folded over like a piece of laundry. They couldn’t’ve been older than ten. 

The second was still in their bed. Shikachi would’ve thought them to still be asleep, if not for the blood staining the sheets, still drip–drip–dripping onto the floor.

The third, fourth and fifth children she finds all together, bodies stacked in the corner of the room like one would dump a mission pack. 

And it went on, body after body. 

By the time she’d gone through every house, she decided that if she ever saw Itachi again, she’d kill him– and she’d make it hurt. 

She muttered apologies under her breath every time she moved a body, on autopilot as she placed each person down by the lake.

After at least ten hours, all but two corpses were at the lake. Thinking of Shisui, she didn’t want to leave the bodies, didn’t want to give anyone another chance to tamper with them. She’d already noticed that some of the eye sockets looked  _ wrong,  _ as if someone had pried the originals out and put different ones in. So, she opted to wait for Kakashi. He’d show up eventually– once he’d gotten Sasuke to sleep. 

Half an hour later, he appeared in a puff of smoke, crossing the clearing in seconds. He dabbed the edge of his sleeve with this tongue before wiping at her cheek. Somewhere in the back of her mind, it reminded her of her mother. But at this point she was too numb for it to really register. 

“S-sensei–” Her voice broke. “Please, she’s in the main house. I can’t–” 

Kakashi hushed her, stroking her hair in a soothing motion. 

“I’ll move her, don’t worry. Stay here.” He mumbled. 

He returned five minutes later. To Shikachi, it felt like seconds. Taking the bloodied clan registry from her hands, he ticked off the last two names. Only Sasuke’s sat near the bottom, untouched. He rolled up the registry and slipped it inside his weapons pouch for safe keeping. Then, he pulled her hand up from where it laid limp at her side and placed something in it. 

Blinking, she looked down at what she was holding. A dogtag. Her sensei’s. The silver stood out starkly against her pink hands, blood still under her nails. 

In a motion she had done three times before, she unclasped the back and put it on, clicking it into place with mechanical hands. 

“Let’s go home and get you cleaned up. You can hold the vigil in the morning.” Kakashi decided for her. 

“B-but the bodies–” She protested weakly. 

“My ninken can keep watch for the night.” He reasoned. “Please, Shikachi. You’re exhausted.” 

It took a few seconds, but she found herself agreeing with a soft  _ ok _ . 

She let Kakashi guide her back to the apartment, letting him strip her down just inside the front door. The clothes weren’t recoverable, she noted automatically– a habit from ANBU missions.

He scrubbed her down in the bath. It took a long time before the water stopped running brown–red–pink. He even got under every finger nail, pulling out dirt and blood with practiced ease. 

When she was clean, he wrapped her in a fluffy towel, eventually managing to coax some clothes back on her shivering form. Once dressed, they made their way to the bed curling around Sasuke gently. 

Kakashi noticed that she checked that they were both alive before, finally, falling unconscious. 

* * *

Shikachi woke up five hours later, feeling like she hadn’t even slept. She groaned and burrowed into Kakashi’s chest to hide from the day. 

“Are you ready for today?” Kakashi murmured, so quiet he knew only she would hear. 

Yawning, she buried her nose into the fabric of his shirt and took a deep breath. “Give me five more minutes.” 

Shikachi relished in those few minutes, her small chance to just breathe and exist and  _ be _ . 

Then, when she felt ready to face the day, she opened her eyes. 

“I need you to help me check the bodies one last time– for tampering.” She said in hushed tones, well aware of Sasuke just behind her. “I think we’re going to have to burn most of the bodies on the foreshore. There’s only a couple of pyres that we can use.” 

Kakashi hummed. 

“We’ll put Fugaku-sama and Mikoto-sama on the pyres then.” He voiced what Shikachi wouldn’t. 

“It’s going to be a long vigil.” She whispered. 

“It is.” Kakashi agreed plainly. He sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and standing into a back popping stretch. “Breakfast first though.”

Shikachi watched from the bed as the man began cooking some eggs and checking how much leftover rice they had in the rice cooker. Sasuke stirred next to her, groaning before burying his head into his pillow and going back to sleep. Smiling, Shikachi enjoyed the moment of normality– domestic bliss, as it were.

Then, she got up and started her day too. Getting dressed, she donned her Jonin attire and retied her hair into its usual low bun. 

The pair ate in silence once the food was ready. They set aside a small bowl for Sasuke for when he got up later and then left the flat without waking Sasuke. Roof jumping to the compound, they made it there in under a minute. Shikachi walked back towards the Main House whilst Kakashi greeted his ninken before inspecting the bodies. 

She navigated the hallways blindly, not wanting to see the ghost of where her sensei had laid, until she found the room she was looking for. Sasuke’s room was untouched, looking exactly as it had the morning before the massacre– bedsheets freshly crumpled in a heap and all.

Pulling out a storage scroll, she began pulling out the boys clothes. She took a stuffed animal or two, but other than that she left most of the boy’s things where they were. When she was done, she shut Sasuke’s door softly behind her and suddenly found herself staring at the wood of the murderer's closed door. 

Her hand ghosted the handle before letting her arm drop back to her side. Closing her eyes again, she turned on her heel and made the blind walk back out of the damned house. Closing the front door behind her, she vowed to never step foot in there again. 

At the lake, she found Kakashi feeding his ninken, looking as relaxed as ever. 

“Well?” She asked once she got close enough to feel his breath on her lips. 

“At least five.” He mumbled. “I don’t know their names–I’m sorry.” 

She took a breath. “Thank you for checking.” 

“Shall we go back and get Sasuke?” He asked, changing the subject. 

With a jerky nod, they left the ninken to their watch again. 

Waking the boy up was easier now that it was later in the day. Shikachi deposited the scroll she’d filled up whilst Kakashi roused Sasuke. Soon enough, he was sitting cross legged at their coffee table, eating the now cold rice with his eyes still half-closed.

Shikachi cleared her throat to draw his attention. “Sasuke, today I’m going to be holding the funeral. Would you like to stand vigil with me?” She asked tentatively. 

Sasuke’s head snapped up to meet hers, clearly not expecting the topic so soon. His face grew serious. “I want to stand vigil.” He said determinedly. 

“It’s going to be a long vigil.” Shikachi said, quieter now. 

“I-I know that.” He said resolutely. 

She nodded. “Okay, then. We’ll go after we’ve eaten.” 

They dug into their food. Shikachi didn’t realise how hungry she was until then, and began devouring her portion before going back for more rice. 

Once the rice cooker was scraped clean, they changed into their funeral attire– all black. And then they were off, walking through the early morning market solemnly. 

The villagers stopped as they passed, whispering about the Uchiha. Sasuke faltered at their mutterings, but Kakashi simply wrapped his arm around the boy's shoulders and guided him through the busy street like it was any other day. 

They arrived at the gates of the compound to find the other clan heads, the clan elders and the Hokage waiting for them, all in black. The trio paused, clearly not expecting anyone else to join them. 

The Hokage stepped forward and faced Sasuke before bowing. “I’m sorry for your loss, Sasuke-kun.” He came back up for a second to face Shikachi. “And you as well, Shikachi. You were very close with your Sensei.” Hiruzen rumbled. 

Shikachi bowed shallowly before crouching in front of Sasuke. 

“I just want to prepare you before we go in there.” She paused. “It’s a lot of bodies, Sasuke.” She said truthfully. “A lot of bodies. It’s going to smell when we get close. But it’s going to smell worse when we begin the vigil.” Another breath. “I know you said you know it’s going to be a long vigil, but if you need to stop at any time just let any of us know.” 

She watched as Sasuke hardened himself, squaring his soldiers in a way that looked eerily like Itachi when the boy was still five and in the academy– still learning to throw his kunai straight. 

“Okay.” He said. 

“Do you know the jutsu?” She asked. Sasuke shook his head, so she brought her hands together, acutely aware of the other adults watching them. “Snake–rat–tiger. Then you bring your chakra up and through your mouth–like the great fireball jutsu.” She explained before gesturing to him to practice the hand signs. 

After a few repetitions, his hands were flowing smoothly enough that Shikachi stood from her crouch to face Kakashi. They made eye contact– a silent reassurance– and then began the walk inside the compound. Sasuke held their hands, gripping tightly as they stepped over puddles of blood in the street. 

They arrived at the lake. Shikachi could feel the shock, palpable, as they neared the rows of bodies. Each body was adorned with rings of flowers and armed with their weapons. They stopped once they got close. Shikachi felt much more awkward leading the ceremony herself. 

She cleared her throat and took a deep breath. This was it; they would finally be able to let them rest. “I call upon Odin and Freya. Please guide every man, woman and child here to Valhalla and Volkvangr. May they rest there.” 

Shikachi took another, long breath. 

“Cattle die, kinsmen die, the self must also die; I know one thing which never dies: the reputation of each dead man, woman and child.” She recited. 

Next to her, she felt Sasuke squeeze her hand and take a heaving breath of his own. “B-behold, I see my father and mother. I see all my dead relatives seated. I see my master seated in Paradise and Paradise is beautiful and green; with him are men and boy servants. He calls me. Take me to him.” Sasuke said the prayer dutifully.

Sasuke drew quiet and looked at Shikachi expectantly. Glancing around, she saw that everyone was looking at her. She never realised until then how much she relied on Fugaku and her sensei to lead these ceremonies. 

_ And now we light the pyre.  _

She realised slowly. Taking a few steps forward, she crouched at the edge of the lake where two wooden pyres sat. Twisting around, she looked at Sasuke and beckoned him over with her hand. He took small steps towards her until they were shoulder to hip. 

“Ready?” She asked quietly, placing a hand on Fugaku’s pyre. 

Mirroring her, Sasuke put his hand on Mikoto’s pyre. 

_ “Three, two, one…”  _ Shikachi whispered, placing her other hand on Mikoto’s pyre before pushing the wooden structures out into the water. 

Bringing her hands together, she made the hand signs: Snake–rat–tiger and let the blue flame leave her lips silently. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Sasuke fumble with his fingers before performing the jutsu. His flame was orange, chakra not concentrated enough to be the scorching cobalt of her own fire. In response, Shikachi put more of her own chakra in her jutsu to make sure the bodies lit up. 

The pair stepped back and the other adults joined them for the remaining bodies, standing in an elongated line in order to burn every one. Once every corpse began to burn, they all stepped back and started their vigil. 

Shikachi tilted her head to the sky, letting her eyes rest on the smoke trickling up–up–up. The sky and fire matched, she noted, both being great movements of blazing oranges and yellows that made her eyes  _ ache _ . She took the moment to breathe and reflect, thinking of her sensei and Fugaku before moving onto Itachi in brief flashes of anger and hatred before finally, to Sasuke. 

What was she supposed to do? How was  _ she  _ supposed to raise a child? She was completely out of her depth. Did she make the right choice? Fighting for guardianship? Would Sasuke be better off with someone more experienced? Like the Hyuuga, or the Nara. 

What if she fucked up? Became like her father– or produced another Itachi?

She glanced at the little boy beside her, filled with grief, and wondered,  _ would it have been kinder to kill him too?  _

Her eyes moved from Sasuke to the mop of silver hair further to her right and paused in her self-doubt. She wasn’t alone in this–never alone when it came to Kakashi. She’d watched him grow from a boy to a man; she could watch Sasuke grow into himself too. She would see this through. No matter what. For Sasuke. 

Shikachi blinked and her sensei’s pyre was sinking into the lake in a pile of ashen wood. The bodies on the foreshore would take a little longer, maybe an hour or two. Then this would be over. 

Sasuke stood strong throughout the vigil, despite flinching slightly at the putrid smell of burning flesh. He was an Uchiha and Uchiha men didn’t cry. A gruelling seven hours since the first pyre was lit, the bodies finally began extinguishing themselves–having nothing left to burn.

Kakashi made his way over to the pair, placing a hand on each of their shoulders to shake them out of their dead–eyed staring. Shikachi snapped towards him so violently, for a second he thought she would attack him. Recognition flashed through her dark orbs before she could move, and she relaxed into the man's hold. Sasuke’s reaction was far less startling, merely grabbing Kakashi’s hand in his and taking a tight grip. 

“Ready to go?” Kakashi murmured. 

He waited patiently for her to process the question. 

She nodded numbly in response. 

Kakashi crouched to Sasuke’s height. “You want me to carry you?” He offered with a crescent–moon smile. 

Sasuke bristled, shaking his head resolutely. 

“That’s ok.” Kakashi accepted, standing again. He offered his hand to the boy, but Sasuke simply stalked ahead of them. Wrapping an arm around Shikachi’s shoulders, they followed the boy back through the compound and into the street. 

He watched on as Sasuke began to falter in his steps. But still, the boy refused his help, marching himself back to their little apartment adamantly. Sasuke threw himself bodily onto the bed, turning his back to the room with his face scrunched up. He refused to cry even here. Muffling his sobs, he smothered his face into the pillows. 

Placing Shikachi on the sofa, he covered her with a spare blanket before leaving the apartment again. 

Walking himself to the Shinobi–residential district, he began hunting for an apartment. For Kakashi and Shikachi, money wasn’t an issue. He viewed multiple properties before settling on one he knew would be perfect. It was a two bed flat inside a mostly ANBU–occupied block. The flat itself was the second from the top inside the block. Meaning they would get the least amount of noise from upstairs neighbours, whilst not having to deal with ninja roof–jumping at all hours of the night. Signing the papers was easy once Kakashi put forward a month's rent as a safety deposit. 

He returned to their little apartment with his copy of the paperwork to find both Shikachi and Sasuke still out cold. Placing the documents on the coffee table, he left again. He had one more place to visit today. 

Ten minutes later, Kakashi found himself standing outside of the Nara main house. He ripped his knuckles on the door, feeling his brain short–circuit as a certain clan head answered the door. 

“I have need of your wife.” He blurted out in panic. 

“What.” Shikaku startled. 

He bowed, a little low for one clan head to another, but he was new to this, sue him. “Please. I need to ask your wife for advice.” 

Shikaku sighed. “Fine. Come in.” He grumbled as he led the younger man through the house. “Yoshino, there’s someone here for you.” The man prefaced before leaving the room. 

Yoshino sat in the lounge, reading a book, clearly enjoying the rest of her day. 

“Yoshino-san, I’m sorry to intrude on you like this but I wanted to ask you something.” Kakashi began. Yoshino put her book down, face far more serious in the presence of the Hatake clan head. The man bowed, a full 90º. “Please teach me how to cook.” 

Yoshino startled back at the formality. Still, Kakashi did not rise from his bow. 

“Kakashi-kun,” The man finally rose up. “could I ask– why do you want to learn, and why from me?” She asked. 

He cleared his throat. “I want to learn so that I can feed both Shikachi and Sasuke with proper food. It would take a lot of burden off of Shikachi if I learnt this. Quite simply, I want you to teach me because I’m sure Shikachi is missing her mother’s cooking– especially right now– and if i can somehow emulate that taste, it might make her happier.” He explained.

Yoshino felt her heart swell. “I’m glad my daughter has someone like you in her life. I would be happy to teach you. How about we start today? I’m making cold soba noodles today.” 

“I would be honoured, Yoshino-san.” Kakashi said. 

The woman got up, making her way to the kitchen. “It’s a little early to start now but I’m sure she’s hungry after the past few days she's had.” 

Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “She’s asleep right now. I think she’s just exhausted at this point.” 

Yoshino hummed, pulling out her ingredients. 

“I’m not surprised.” 

The woman started by making the dipping sauce for the noodles. Kakashi took notes diligently. Once the sauce had been strained and set aside to cool, she cooked the noodles. After draining said noodles, Yoshino rinsed them under cold water to  _ get rid of the starch _ , according to Kakashi’s notes. She placed the noodles in a bath of iced water and then began pouring the cooled dipping sauce into a container for Kakashi to take home; the noodles following suit soon after. Lastly, she chopped up some spring onions and put them in a smaller box, as well as a small amount of wasabi. 

When Yoshino handed Kakashi the boxes, he bowed thankfully. “Thank you for teaching me– and for the food.” He said.

The woman simply smiled, leading back to the front door. “Thank you for taking care of my daughter. You’re welcome over anytime for more lessons.” 

Kakashi’s shoulders dropped in relief. “Thank you.” With one final bow, he began making his way back to his home. 

When he entered the flat, it was as silent as he left it. Both Shikachi and Sasuke still passed out cold on the bed. Quietly, as to not wake his little family, he started getting out the bowls and chopsticks. He set out all the food on the coffee table before finally approaching the lump of blankets on the bed. Reaching out, he let his chakra permeate the surrounding air before touching his partner, shaking her lightly. 

“Shikachi?” He murmured. “I need you to get up for me and eat something.”

Said woman only groaned before curling further in on herself, savouring the warmth of the sheets. 

Kakashi shook Sasuke in the same manner. “Sasuke-kun, it’s time to get up.” 

The boy mimicked Shikachi perfectly, a cute pout adorning his features. Before Sasuke could react, Kakashi swooped in and lifted the child out of the bed. Placing him down at the table, he ruffled Sasuke’s hair before going back for his partner. 

“C’mon, up.” He nudged her again.    


With a huff, the teen got up too, dragging one of their blankets with her stubbornly. 

“Wha–” She yawned. “–what’s this?” 

“Cold soba noodles.” Kakashi answered, eyes pinching into crescents. 

Shikachi hummed before putting her hands together. “Thank you for the food.” She mumbled. 

Sasuke and Kakashi did the same. Then, she picked up her chopsticks and began eating. When the food hit her tongue, she paused. She shifted from mild confusion to tears to full out sobbing as she began eating in earnest. 

Kakashi panicked. “What’s wrong? Do you not like it?” 

Shikachi sniffled, wiping her eyes with her sleeve. “I  _ love _ it. It tastes just like Kaa-san’s soba noodles.” She answered, sounding both miserable and ecstatic as she devoured her food. Kakashi smiled to himself as he continued his own meal.

Once they’d mostly finished their food, the man cleared his throat to draw the attention of the table. 

“I–um– I think it would be a good idea for us to move.” He started, unsure of how to approach the topic. This isn’t a conversation he’d had to have before. “I already looked at apartments earlier today and found one that I think is perfect. How about we head over there in a bit to check it out?” He asked, wishing he hadn’t signed the lease papers now, looking at Shikachi and Sasuke’s apprehensive faces. 

“I think a change of pace would be good. We need it. And Sasuke needs his own room, something we don’t have here.” Shikachi admitted easily.

“What? But– we’re fine here!” Sasuke protested. 

Both Jonin looked at the boy, concerned.

“Sasuke you can’t sleep in our bed for the rest of your life.” Shikachi chastised lightly. 

The boy pouted. “I guess we can go look at it.” He mumbled, tucking his chin into his chest. 

“Thank you Sasuke.” Kakashi said, grateful for the boy’s willingness. 

Soon enough, they were finished with their dinner and were leaving their dingy little apartment. The new place wasn’t that far from where they already lived. Fifteen minutes later they were standing outside the door, waiting for Kakashi to finish fiddling with the keys. 

Kakashi entered first, anxious to look behind him at his family. He stayed in the lounge–area whilst the other two explored. 

“Wow.” Shikachi said, breathless. “This place is perfect– second to the top– two rooms– separate lounge and kitchen– and it’s closer to the academy! How’d you find this place?” She walked onto the balcony. 

Kakashi snorted, joining her in enjoying the view. “I think you’ll find our salary can get us a lot more than this.” He teased. 

Shikachi hummed. “I think my money’s just going to sit in my account forever. I make you pay for everything anyway so it’s not like i'm spending any of it.” She said, slumping over the railing with a sigh.

“If it’s any consolation, you don’t even make a dent in mine.” He commented easily. 

“Maybe we should invest it in something.” Shikachi tossed up the idea.

Kakashi tilted his head to the side. He could hear Sasuke’s pitter–patter steps still wandering the new apartment. 

“Become Hokage first and then we can talk about investments.” He teased. 

Shikachi squawked. “I am  _ not  _ becoming  _ Hokage _ ! Get that idea out of your head right now Hatake Kakashi!” She poked her finger into the man’s chest with a scowl. 

Kakashi laughed heartily. “Well I’m not doing it and everyone else in this damned village is useless. I told you– ten years–” 

“–it hasn’t been ten years!” She hissed. 

“Not long now though.” He said, eyes twinkling. 

Both Jonin paused to look at Sasuke in the doorway. 

“Well? Do you like it?” Shikachi asked curiously. 

Sasuke shrugged. “I guess.” 

“Great, then it’s decided. We’ll move in in the next few days.” Shikachi made the choice for them. 

* * *

Packing up their life, Kakashi and Shikachi realised they had accumulated more items than they thought; from blunt weapons and training scrolls from days gone by to old hair ties that Shikachi had shoved down the side of the bed when she was ten. It took a fair few trips to move everything. By the time they just had the large furniture left, the pair decided to hire extra help via the missions desk. A familiar pair of Chunin turned up for the task. 

“We’re here for a C-rank moving furniture?” Izumo asked, eyebrows raised at the Hatake pair. 

“You’re in the right place.” Shikachi reassured them. 

“You guys are moving, Senpai?” Kotetsu clarified as he passed through the threshold for the tiny flat. 

“We need more space, what with Sasuke-kun staying with us now.” She answered as she picked up a box. “Your job is to move the bed, wardrobe, drawers, sofa and fridge.” 

Kakashi picked up the last box in their home. “This should be it.” He turned to the Chunin. “We’ll walk with you to the new place so you know where you’re going.” 

Izumo and Kotetsu hurried to grab the sofa, heaving the old thing through the doorway with strained breaths. 

“Sasuke-kun? C’mon– we’re going.” Shikachi called. The boy appeared from the kitchen, weaving through the adults legs easily and making his way out of the front door with a scowl.

They started making their way out of the apartment building and into the street, Sasuke several meters ahead of them.

“What’s with him?” Izumo asked. 

Shikachi shrugged. “He’s sulking.” 

“Wha– but he’s an Uchiha–” 

“–who is more than capable of moping his way through the day.” Shikachi rolled her eyes. “Shisui always used to–” She cut herself off, smile slowly dropping from her face. 

“Shunshin no Shisui?” Kotetsu asked curiously. 

Shikachi smiled in a restrained manner. “He was my Genin teammate.” 

Izumo cleared his throat awkwardly. 

“Sorry for bringing him up.” He apologised, Kotetsu echoing the gesture. 

“It’s alright. I’m the one who brought him up anyway.” She said with a small shrug.

They spent the rest of the journey in silence, opting to focus on Sasuke instead. Izumo and Kotetsu complained relentlessly as they ascended the stairs.

“ _ Why _ did you have to pick the one second to the top?” Kotetsu wheezed.

“It has a nice view.” Kakashi defended with a pout. 

The pair put the sofa down with a small  _ oof.  _

“This is a beautiful apartment.” Izumo admitted as he looked around. 

“Thanks. It’ll look even better with all our furniture in it.” Shikachi said sweetly. 

With a groan, the two made their way back out to continue their mission. 

A lot of complaining later, the last of their furniture was finally in their new flat. 

“Okay, now that that’s done all that’s left is to get the stuff from the market.” Kakashi said cheerfully, guiding the Chunin out with a hand on each shoulder. 

“Hey! That wasn’t in the mission parameters!” Kotetsu protested. 

“Of course it was. You’re here to move furniture, aren’t you?” Kakashi said as they entered the store. 

“Well  _ yes  _ but–”

“–there you have it then. We’re all in agreement. What do you think of these drawers?” Kakashi manipulated them easily. He spent the following afternoon dragging the Chunin from store to store, buying things for both Sasuke and Shikachi. 

By the time they were done, the sun was beginning to set. 

“Thanks for the help boys. We really appreciate it.” Shikachi thanked them, eyes pinching into a creepily familiar crescent–shape.

* * *

Kakashi and Shikachi spent the next few days trying to engage with Sasuke, only for the boy to turn them away. Sasuke took hours at a time cooped up in his room, reemerging only for food and to use the bathroom. 

Shikachi was at a loss for what to do. They were reaching out to him, but he wasn’t taking them up on their offers. She tried again to knock on the boy’s door. No answer.

“Sasuke? We were going to go to the park. Did you want to come with us?” She asked tentatively. 

They waited ten minutes. After hearing no movement from Sasuke’s room, they decided to do what they said they would, and left for the park. 

Shikachi grasped Kakashi’s hand tightly as they made it to the patch of green. Kakashi guided her to a bench and they sat down tiredly. 

“I don’t know what to do Kakashi. He won’t even talk to us.” Shikachi said miserably. 

“He’s grieving. I was the same when my father died.” He said. 

“How did you do it– back then, I mean.” She asked, leaning into him with a sigh. 

Kakashi looked up at the sky and squeezed his partners hand. “I was already a Chunin when he died. The Hokage put me on a team with Minato-sensei and he helped me by redirecting my energy into missions.” 

“Sasuke’s still an academy student though.” Shikachi frowned.

He hummed. “Maybe it’s time he started going back then?” 

“Maybe. Let’s talk to him about it when we get home.” She mumbled. “Can we stay here for a bit longer though?”

Stroking his thumb over her knuckles, he wrapped his other arm around her shoulder. “Of course we can. I think Sasuke can go a few extra minutes without us.”

They sat like that for five more minutes, just enjoying each other's company. Making their way back home was an easy journey in the early evening. 

Opening the door to their apartment, they were expecting to be met with silence. Instead, little Sasuke stood at the door, fists clenched at his sides. 

“Where  _ were _ you?” He asked, clearly frustrated. 

“At the park?” Shikachi answered, not crossing the threshold for the apartment.

“You left me here!” Sasuke shouted. 

“Sasuke,” Shikachi lowered herself into a crouch so she could look Sasuke in the eyes. “I understand that you’re frustrated right now, but I would appreciate it if you didn’t shout at me. I’m not shouting at you.” She said quietly.

Sasuke let out a sole sniffle. He wiped his nose with a sharp movement before speaking with venom. “ _ You left me _ .” 

“I’m sorry for leaving you here. I did knock on your door to ask if you wanted to come with us.” She said. 

“But I was coming! I swear!” He cried, wiping at his red face, distraught.

“We waited for ten minutes after knocking but you didn’t come out. How was I supposed to know you were coming if you didn’t tell me? I need you to communicate with me Sasuke.” She reasoned. 

Sasuke continued to cry where he stood. 

“Can I hug you?” Shikachi asked quietly. 

He sobbed harder, reaching his arms out. Taking the invitation, Shikachi swooped in and pulled the boy into her chest. She stood, pulling him with her and letting him wrap his legs around her waist as he weeped. 

“Don’t leave me again.” He hiccupped and stuttered, but the command was still there.

Shiakchi hushed him, rubbing his back soothingly. “I won’t. I promise.” 

Making her way over to the sofa, she sat down and waited for Sasuke to work his way through his emotions.

Eventually, he stopped crying. One look at his face and Shikachi knew all he needed in that moment was his bed. She put him to bed with no resistance. He was asleep before she’d even tucked him in fully.

She sighed as she reemerged from his room, shutting the door with a soft  _ click _ . 

“That went well.” She said sarcastically.

Kakashi shrugged. “It’s progress.”

Shikachi looked at him incredulously. “You call that progress?” 

He looked at her seriously now. 

“I do.” She slumped into the sofa crease beside him. “You’ve got to remember: something is better than nothing. I'd rather he screamed at us then shut himself away.” Kakashi reasoned.

“I guess.” She agreed. A second went by in silence. “I’m hungry.” She whined.

“How about I cook? You stay here and relax.” He offered, patting her knee as he stood.

Yawning, she curled up on the sofa with a hum. “Okay.”

Kakashi went into the kitchen and waited five minutes in the space. He listened as his partner’s breathing evened out. Going back into the lounge, he found her passed out cold on the couch. With a soft snort, he picked her up and moved her to their bedroom. They could skip dinner for one night. 

The morning brought with it a new day, open to new conversations. As such, Shikachi capitalised on Sasuke’s tolerable morning attitude. 

“So, Sasuke, what did you think about going back to the academy?” She sprung the question on him like a loaded trap.

The boy froze in his seat at the table.

“ _ Now? _ ” He asked incredulously. 

Shikachi had to stop herself from cringing. “Not right this second. Maybe in a few days? You could return this Monday for a fresh week.” She tried to make it seem less immediate. 

“But I’m already so far behind I don’t want to go back and be lost the whole time.” He explained. 

Kakashi nodded understandingly. “Maybe we can request what you’ve missed so far from the academy and then Shikachi and I can help you catch up in time for a week or two's time.” He suggested.

Sasuke bit his lip. 

“I want the Uchiwa on all my clothes.” He declared. 

“That’s something we can definitely sort out.” Shikachi said confidently.

“It has to be a big Uchiwa.” He pouted. 

Shikachi tried not to smile. “You drive a hard bargain.” She held out her hand. “We help you catch up and sew the Uchiwa nice and big on all your clothes and you go back to the academy as soon as you’re caught up. Do we have a deal?” 

He took it with little hesitation. 

* * *

Requesting the work from the academy took no time at all. Iruka-sensei compiled a packet of all the missed work and also a side note about any physical activities they did whilst he was gone too. Shikachi stared at the stack of papers with raised eyebrows. 

“Did we have this much paperwork in the academy?” She asked as she flicked through the papers. “Why does he need to do three whole worksheets on the trajectory of a kunai?” She muttered to herself. 

Kakashi hummed. “I don’t think I had this much either. Maybe we should just give him the relevant stuff.” 

“Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. He doesn’t exactly need to know all of this chakra theory anyway.” Shikachi agreed as she pulled out detailed notes on all the chakra types sans lightning. 

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. “And why, pray tell, does Sasuke only need to learn Lightning-based chakra theory?”

“Because he’s a–” She closed her mouth with an audible  _ click,  _ the _Lightning-type_ dying on her tongue.

Kakashi narrowed his eye. “Who else knows?” He grew serious, checking their surroundings on instinct. 

“Just you and me. I don’t even think Sasuke himself knows.” She murmured. 

“If the council find out–” 

“–they won’t!” Shikachi hissed. “They  _ can’t  _ know.”  _ You saw what they did to me _ went unsaid. 

“How are we supposed to hide this?” He asked through gritted teeth. “There are signs. They’re going to find out–” 

“–What signs?” She cut him off sharply, neck snapping up to look him in the eye. 

“Well first off all is the chakra paper. That ones the most obvious. Honestly, if he gets within any chakra conductive paper or leaves, it’ll do the same thing as chakra paper. Constantly giving others shocks when they touch you from the static electricity that comes from an overabundance of chakra. There’s more, but I haven’t figured out if they’re unique to you.” He said.

Shikachi gawked at him. “How didn’t I know this?!” 

“I learnt most of them from you.” Kakashi admitted with an awkward cough. 

She groaned. “It’s hopeless.” 

“Have you thought about what you’re going to do if they find out?” He asked. 

Eyes shifting to the side, she bit her lip.

“I’ve had multiple thoughts.” She admitted. 

“Does one of them include treason?” He asked half-sarcastic, half-serious. 

She had the gall to look embarrassed, cheeks reddening accordingly. “It might do.”

Kakashi rolled his eyes. “Alright, treason aside. What were your other plans?” 

“Dismantling the politics of the major clans and the council.” He cocked his eyebrow again. “From the inside.” She conceded. 

“Better.” Kakashi complimented. 

* * *

They did end up taking out some of Sasuke’s work, instead choosing to focus on the practical elements more. It took nearly two weeks, but they’d managed to catch him up so he’d be at the exact same place as his peers on the coming Monday. 

When finally the day arrived, Shikachi could tell they were in for a struggle. 

The morning itself was  _ hell _ . Kakashi and Shikachi got up extra early to make sure breakfast was on the table for when Sasuke would wake up. Only the boy refused to join the world of the living, grumbling and growling from his pile of bedding that he’d cocooned himself in. 

“Sasuke you’re going to be late at this rate. C’mon, breakfast is getting cold.” Kakashi tried to coax him out of bed. 

With a scowl, Shikachi channeled her own mother. Quick as lightning, she grabbed the edge of Sasuke’s duvet and yanked it from his prone form. 

“If you’re not at the table in two minutes I’ll get a bucket of water.” She warned. 

“We don’t even have a bucket.” Sasuke complained. 

“Then I’ll get creative.” She growled as she left. 

Kakashi followed her out like a lost puppy. “That was a little harsh, don’t you think?” 

“He’s an Uchiha. Sometimes they need a little extra motivation.” She grumbled. 

“Can’t argue with that.” The man admitted, thinking back to his own past Uchiha teammates. 

One minute and fifty-nine seconds later, Sasuke appeared at the table, stuffing his face with eggs immediately. “What?” He asked, mouth overflowing. “You said two minutes.” 

Shikachi’s eyes twinkled in amusement. “I didn’t say anything.” 

Fifteen minutes later, they were standing at the front door, about to leave. 

“I can’t do this.” Sasuke stopped short, not even a toe across the doorframe.

“Why not?” Shikachi countered. 

“I just  _ can’t. _ ” He swallowed. 

“What’s the worst that can happen?” Kakashi offered up his food for thought. 

“They make fun of me. Laugh at me. Ask me what happened. Ask me why I haven't been at school.” He rambled. 

“Okay. If they laugh at you or make fun of you– for whatever reason– you tell your teacher and he will deal with it. If they ask you why you haven’t been at school, or about what happened, you just tell them you don’t want to talk about it. Ad nauseum. You don’t have to tell them anything. And if they make you feel like you  _ have  _ to tell them, you walk away.” She quelled his fears. 

They waited for him to take a deep breath. “Okay. Let’s go.” 

After locking the front door, they made the journey to the academy– an easy ten minute walk. 

Sasuke found that, the closer he got, the more sick he felt. Palms sweating and heart racing, the academy gates dawned on him. 

“I can’t–” He turned to Shikachi. 

The teen knelt down so they were eye-to-eye. “–you can and you will. Just remember what we talked about. I believe in you.” 

Sasuke took a final breath before turning on the balls of his feet and crossing through the gates. They waited until he vanished into the large building to make their way back to their apartment. 

“Do you think he’s going to be okay?” Shikachi asked nervously, biting her lip. 

Her partner smiled at her, squeezing her shoulder with a single hand. “He’s going to be just fine.” He reassured her. 

Nodding, she sat at the tiny coffee table and pulled out a clean piece of paper. Kakashi joined her, folding his legs under himself easily. 

“Y’know we could sit at the dining table.” He snarked. 

During their move, they’d bought a larger table, fit for a Clan head, his matriarch and an heir. They were sentimental though, so the tiny coffee table from their youth remained in front of their ratty sofa–remnants of simpler times. 

She ignored him expertly. Instead, opting to write out the names of the major clans one by one. Once finished, she pointed to a particular name. “We start with the Inuzuka.” She declared. 

They began their planning there–their plan for political upheaval. 

* * *

Soon enough, it was time to pick up Sasuke from the academy. Not trusting anyone, Kakashi burned the papers, instead choosing to commit their progress to memory. 

They waited right at the front of the group of waiting parents. Shikachi spotted Sasuke’s mop of black hair immediately and waved at him with a grin. She looped an arm around his shoulders when he got close enough. 

“How’d it go?” She asked.

“It went okay.” Sasuke mumbled. 

Shikachi relaxed. She could work with okay. “That’s good! What did you learn?” She asked cheerfully. 

Kakashi trailed behind them, content to read his book– a little novella featuring swords and trickery that reminded him of the Hidden Mist. 

Sasuke made a small noise at the back of his throat. “I learnt about the different weapons shinobi use.” 

“Oh? What were your favourites?” She asked, intrigued. 

“The Seven Swords of the Mist were pretty cool. There’s one that looks like a shark!” He said excitedly. 

Shikachi smiled. “Just hope you never see one of those swords in battle.” She teased. 

“But why? They sound  _ awesome _ .” Sasuke whined. 

She snorted.

“I’m not saying they’re not. But I certainly wouldn’t want to face down one of the seven. They’re highly skilled– all A and S-rank.”  _ All rogues too.  _ She lamented. “Any of the other weapons catch your interest?” She redirected the conversation. 

Humming, he looked to the sky in thought. “I don’t really know. The senbon looked interesting but I feel like they’re not very effective in battle.” He reflected. 

“It depends on what you’re using them for.” Shikachi countered knowingly.

“They’re common amongst assassins and hunter-nins for their discrete nature and ability to incapacitate their target. Now if you’re looking to do damage _ ,  _ that’s where your giant swords and axes come in.” She explained.

Sasuke nodded along diligently. 

“Have you thought about what sector you’d want to go into once you’re a Chunin?” 

He looked down sadly now, visibly deflating. “I wanted to join the Uchiha police force."

Shikachi wanted to slap herself for her stupidity.

Kakashi swooped in on Sasuke’s other side. “As chief of police, right? The job’s actually mostly administerial. If you were still looking for something similar then maybe you should think about the Jonin Commander position.”

The boy looked at Kakashi curiously. “What does the Jonin Commander  _ do _ , exactly?” Sasuke asked. 

“The Jonin Commander organises the deployment of every active Jonin in Konoha. It requires a lot of organisation, planning, strategy and the ability to think ahead– as well as being up to date on current affairs.” Shikachi parroted like out of a textbook. 

“And it’s an important job?” Sasuke asked.

“Extremely important. The Jonin Commander answers only to the Hokage. They’re the second highest position in the village.” Kakashi said, purposefully not mentioning the ANBU Commander. “It’s just something to keep in mind.” He added belatedly. 

They walked the remainder of the journey in comfortable silence. 

* * *

After that, things seemed to smoothen out in the Hatake household. Sasuke left early for the academy and came back all smiles, happy to talk about his day animatedly. 

So to say Shikachi was surprised to be asked to a meeting with Sasuke’s sensei–Iruka– would be an understatement. 

She arrived at the classroom bright and early– knowing Sasuke wouldn’t leave the flat for another half an hour. Knocking on the man’s office, she could feel the stares of academy students– all wondering what a Jonin was doing with their Sensei. She’d dressed in her Jonin attire for the occasion and fought the urge to laugh as she heard them whisper about the pair of them dating. 

“You must be Shikachi-san. Please, come in.” He said, pulling the door wider so she could step through. 

Shikachi cut straight to the point. “What’s this about?” 

They sat down opposite each other. Iruka grew serious. “Sasuke-kun’s been having some  _ behavioural  _ issues.” He opened with. Shikachi’s eyebrows shot through the roof. “At first I just put it down to his recent loss but it’s getting out of control now.” 

“What, exactly, is he doing?” She asked for clarification. 

Iruka looked nervous as he spoke. “Mostly he’s been fighting with his other classmates unsanctioned. There’s also been times where he’s spoken rudely and sworn at me. On top of that, throwing things in class, setting a classmate’s work on fire and skipping class all together.” He listed. 

Shikachi sat there for a second, processing the new information. 

“First of all, thank you for bringing this to my attention. That kind of behaviour is unacceptable and I will be having a long conversation with him after school today. Secondly, if you have any more issues with him, I want you to tell me either in person or in writing–whichever is more convenient. Don’t hesitate to contact me or Kakashi. Thirdly, you have my most sincere apologies for this.” She bowed a little, mouth downturned in a frown. 

Iruka stuttered. “Please, there’s no need to bow.” His cheeks reddened. 

Shikachi looked at him sharply. “I assure you, Iruka-sensei, if he was working under me in the field, I wouldn’t be having a conversation. I’d be filing for dishonorable discharge. He has another thing coming if he thinks acting like that is fitting for a shinobi of Konoha.” She made her stance very clear. 

Because as much as she hated her father, he was her superior, and she would never even  _ dream  _ of disobeying him in the field. It was the same across Konoha and to act in such a manner not only disrespected his family, but her own name as a Hatake. This was about face. This was about honour. 

* * *

Kakashi wasn’t prepared for the whirlwind that was his partner when she returned home. 

“–and he set fire to someone’s work!” She ranted.

The man held his hands up in front of her warily. “Are you finished?” 

Taking a second to breathe, she let her shoulders drop in fatigue.

“Why aren’t you  _ angry _ about this?” She asked. 

“What use is getting angry going to do?” He questioned. “Don’t get me wrong. I’m disappointed. And I agree with you, if he was my subordinate I would remove him from the field. But–Shikachi look at me– he’s still in the academy. This is our chance to teach him, instead of blindly punishing him.” He reasoned. 

She deflated. “Maybe you should talk to him instead.” She mumbled. 

“That’s something I can do.” Kakashi said confidently. He’d been Captain long enough by now. 

So, when Sasuke got home that day, Shikachi made herself scarce–opting to retreat to the bedroom.

“Sasuke, why don’t you take a seat with me?” Kakashi invited. 

The boy froze like a deer in the headlights. “Um–no thanks–” He tried to bolt to his room, but Kakashi grabbed his arm gently to stop him. 

“I wasn’t asking.” He made himself clear. 

Warily, Sasuke sat down at the dining table. Kakashi sat opposite him. 

“I spoke to Iruka-sensei this morning.” Sasuke stiffened. “He tells me that you’re having a few issues at school. Did you want to talk about it?” 

There was a small pause as Sasuke contemplated his options. “...what did he tell you?” 

The man listed all the offences clinically and methodically, all the while looking like the epitome of relaxed. Sasuke gaped like a fish before stuttering into an attempt at a cover up. 

Kakashi sat through his blubbering lies, amused. 

“I’ll give it to you. You’ve got some guts lying straight to my face like that.” 

Sasuke avoided his gaze quickly. 

“Sasuke, I need you to understand that that kind of behaviour isn’t acceptable. Personally, I don’t care how well you do academically, I just want you to  _ try.  _ What did Shikachi tell you the day you went back?” He asked rhetorically. “That if you got upset or angry, to walk away.” 

“But a ninja doesn’t run away!” He argued. 

“I’m not talking to a ninja, am I?” Kakashi sighed. “You’re not a ninja until you earn your hitai-ate. But that’s besides the point. There is honour in retreat.” 

“But we’re taught that the mission always comes first.” Sasuke countered, sounding confused. 

“There is honour in putting your teammates' lives above the mission. There is no honour in suicide.” He said clearly. “Now,” He changed the subject slightly. “I believe there’s a solution here. From the sounds of it, you’re bored. Shikachi and I can take you out for training to help with that.” He offered. 

Sasuke’s eyes shone before looking around, mildly confused. “Where is Shikachi-nee anyway?” 

“She’s in the bedroom doing some paperwork.” Kakashi lied. “She’ll take you out for training after dinner as long as the rest of your homework is done by then.” 

“But I have so much!” He complained bodily. 

Kakashi shrugged. “Better get started then.”

* * *

As promised, Shikachi left the apartment after dinner with an excited Sasuke in tow. 

“What are you gonna teach me? A cool jutsu? Some secret technique?” He asked, pulling on her arm as they walked to an ANBU-only training ground. 

Once she was satisfied that they were alone, she answered his question. “We’ll be continuing with the Uchiha Style Taijutsu.” 

“But how are  _ you _ going to teach me?” Sasuke asked, thoroughly confused. 

Shikachi rolled her eyes. “What? You think my whole Genin team was Uchihas and I  _ didn’t _ learn the Uchiha Style?” When he had no answer for her, she continued by dropping into a standard Uchiha stance. “C’mon, just some light sparring today so I can see where you’re at.” 

And with that, they began a night of training. 

* * *

After that, they spent nearly every day after school training together. If Shikachi received news that Sasuke hadn’t behaved correctly, their session would be less forgiving. 

She wasn’t exactly surprised to be summoned to the academy again by Iruka-sensei– for the third time that week. 

“Again Sasuke?” Shikachi asked, exasperated, as she entered the mostly empty classroom.

“It’s not my fault! Naruto was saying that I was stupid because I didn’t get a hundred percent on the quiz when he didn’t even scrape twenty! Then  _ he  _ attacked  _ me _ .” Sasuke argued. 

She rolled her eyes. “He threw a paper ball at your head. He did not  _ attack  _ you.”

“But–”

“–Sasuke you can’t retaliate to stuff like that. Besides, if you’re letting projectiles hit your head then maybe we need to work on your dodging skills.” She said in a tone that signalled the end of the conversation. 

Instead of leading him home, Shikachi took Sasuke to the training grounds near their apartment. 

“What are we doing here this time?” He grumbled. 

Shikachi took off her hitai-ate and tossed it to the boy. “Working on your dodging. Cover your eyes with that.” 

With a scowl, he tied the cloth over his eyes. Shikachi withdrew a pack of senbon. 

“Your job is to dodge.” She commanded. 

Whipping his head around, he zeroed in on her for a second before she moved again. She wasn’t an assassin for nothing. Treading silently, she waited a minute for the tension to build before loosing her senbon out. She let the first few fall short around Sasuke’s feet as a warning before aiming for his body. Senbon after senbon nicked and pierced his skin. 

“The aim is to dodge, Sasuke.” Shikachi said, voice dripping with sarcasm. 

He growled at her. “I’m trying!” __

“Try harder.” She ordered. 

This went on for hours. It wasn’t long before Sasuke looked like a pincushion, covered from head to toe in silver pin-pricks. 

She released another volley, aiming at more vital points in her frustration. A flash of silver dropped in front of the boy, deflecting every projectile with ease. 

“Shikachi!” Kakashi snapped viciously. 

“He needs to learn how to dodge!” She argued. 

“Well I don’t think he’s learning anymore.” He growled back. Stepping closer to her and getting in her face, he towered over her. “Put the senbon down. That’s an order.” Her grip tightened on her weapons. Kakashi narrowed his eyes. “I don’t want to have to disarm you.” 

Clenching her jaw, she stepped backwards. He followed. They mirrored each other; Shikachi going to flick her wrists to throw the senbon, whilst Kakashi grabbed her wrists in a bruising grip. Her weapons dropped from her hands at the pressure. She tried to wrench her hands back, but Kakashi was much bigger and simply held on tighter. Bones creaking, she lifted her leg up into a kick. Throwing her off to the side slightly, he tossed her balance and swept her remaining foot. He pushed her into the ground, bringing her wrists behind her and pressing her into the ground. 

Shikachi thrashed beneath him but he held strong, waiting for her to calm down.

“Look at him Shikachi!” He commanded her. Still tasting mud, she craned her neck to spot Sasuke sitting across the clearing. She froze as she processed what she’d done. He was in so much pain– because of her. 

Kakashi leant down and let his mouth brush her ear. 

“I want you to stay here. As your captain, that’s an order.” He made himself clear. When she nodded, he released her and made a beeline for Sasuke. 

Shikachi watched as her partner comforted the boy, slowly pulling out all of her mistakes one-by-one. He removed her hitai-ate from Sasuke’s face, tossing it aside, and picked him up. He shunshinned to their apartment and was gone for ten minutes before coming back for her. 

Staying exactly where she was, she stared at her hitai-ate across the clearing with the increasing want to throw up. She straightened when her partner reappeared. 

“What were you  _ thinking _ ?” He spat. “That training technique is for ANBU recruits and you know it.” 

She ducked her chin to her chest. “I forgot! I was just trying to help.” She responded weakly. 

“You help too much.” Kakashi said, disappointment so obvious it stung _.  _

“I don’t know what else I’m supposed to  _ do! _ ” He stayed silent as tears rolled hot and fresh down her face. “ _ I don’t know what I’m doing. _ ” She sobbed, curling in on herself. 

_ And that’s the crux of it, isn’t it? _

Her breath came in stuttering gasps, each sound making her throat ache. She was choking, she was drowning, she was overcome. She didn’t know what she was doing. Why did everyone expect her to  _ know what she was doing? _

Kakashi watched as his partner broke down. 

She buried her face in the mud, hiding from his knowing eyes and wishing she could sink into the Earth and join her kin.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For reference, here's the [Cold Soba Noodles Recipe](https://www.justonecookbook.com/zaru-soba-cold-soba-noodles/) used in the chap.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Slow and steady wins the race.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This ones a little slower I feel like, I hope you enjoy it all the same :)

With her face buried in the dirt, Shikachi listened as Kakashi walked out of the training ground. She didn’t know if it was kind or cruel of him to leave her there. Her sobs made her chest heave, heave, and _heave_ until she was retching up a yellowish bile that made her throat burn. When she stopped dry-heaving, her body cowed against the wind, shivering violently as it finally registered that she was caked in mud. 

On unsteady feet, she blindly cut through the Konoha forest that bordered the village wall until she stumbled across a familiar clearing. Standing behind the treeline, her eyes were drawn to the scorch marks littering the ground, easily recognising the crevices where great bursts of chakra had struck, then, the delicate liechtenstein patterned cracks she had come to associate with her targets. Her eyes trailed up the beaten path to a shogi board that sat on the wooden flooring just outside the backdoor. 

She felt at odds with herself. Should she knock at the front door like a stranger? Or should she turn around– pretend her feet hadn’t carried her here in the first place? 

The lounge light flickered on. 

And for once, she swallowed her pride and walked round the house to the front door. 

She stood with her fist raised for two minutes, hand shaking even as her knuckles connected with the wood.

It took less than 10 seconds for the door to swing open to reveal her father. His eyes scanned her from head to toe, taking in every bruise and speck of mud before coming back up to meet her eyes grimly. 

She opened her mouth, going to say something–anything. But all that escaped her was a strangled sob. 

“ _Tou-san_.” She called through gasping breaths. 

Without hesitation, her father pulled her into his arms. He hushed her, stroking calloused fingers through her hair and down her muddy back. She pushed weakly against his chest, putting in no real effort to get away from him as he guided them to the lounge. 

Her mother pried her from her father’s grasp with experienced hands, pulling her down onto the sofa with her. Shikachi curled into Yoshino’s side and hid her face in the woman’s chest.

Both adults sat patiently until her sobs died down to intermittent sniffling. 

“What happened sweetheart?” Yoshino asked.

Shikachi wiped at her face, smearing more mud and dirt beneath her lashes. “I messed up.” 

She watched through tired eyes as her father left the room. He returned with a wet cloth in his hand. With a gentleness she didn’t know he possessed, he knelt in front of her and held her chin between his fingers. He wiped her face down, clearing it of mud and tears and sweat as she explained what she did to Sasuke. 

When he finished, Shikachi tucked her chin against her chest. “What should I do?” She asked miserably. 

Yoshino hummed. “Well, judging by the state of that flannel, you should have a shower first. C’mon, you can wear some of my clothes tonight. We’ll talk after you’re clean.” She suggested. 

Shikachi allowed herself to be dragged up the stairs to the bathroom. Standing in the shower, she scrubbed her body until the water ran clear and her skin was a blistering red. 

Putting on her mothers clothes, a singular thought passed through her mind.

_They fit._

She’d grown up; she registered the fact mutely and returned to the lounge with a much quieter mind. She took a seat on the other side of the mud patch she’d created earlier and held her head in her hands.

“I’m sorry for coming here.” She apologised, because she forfeited her place at the Nara Compound.

Shikaku sighed from his armchair across from her. “Shikachi look at me.” He waited until he had her attention before continuing. “You're always welcome here. I don't care how much you think you fucked up. We're family. Just because we don't share the same name doesn't mean we don't love you."

Yoshino sat down next to her with a kind smile. “You’re my baby. I’m glad you came to us when you needed help. That’s all I’ve ever wanted: for you to be healthy and happy– and if you weren’t you’d let me know.”

“What should I do?” Shikachi slumped into her mother’s arms, disheartened. 

“What do you _think_ you should do?” Yoshino asked. 

“Apologise.” She answered immediately with a frown. 

“I think that would be a good start.” Her mother said. “But first, I think you should rest. Sleep here tonight. You can stay in your old bedroom.” 

With a frustrated huff, Shikachi looked up at both her parents, worry swimming in her eyes so much it looked like it might overflow onto her cheeks.

“What if I can’t do this? What if the Hokage was right?” She asked, voice full of doubt.

“I wouldn't have voted for you to have custody if I didn't think you could do it." Shikaku said confidently. 

“But…” She frowned, agitated. “How do you know what to do all the time? You always seemed to have an answer for everything when I was younger.

Shikachi felt her mother lean back on the sofa behind her, trailing her fingers over the teen’s back with a feather-light touch. “Y’know, when you were born we hadn't even set up your cot yet." She reminisced fondly. 

Shikaku snorted from across the room. “I remember that. You were so mad at me when we got home.”

“Because I told you to make it before you left _three missions ago!_ ” Yoshino admonished. 

Unbothered, he waved her off. “Details, details.”

“Can you tell me about it?” Shikachi asked shyly.

“ _So_ , it was like this.” Shikaku began. “I was on back to back missions for two months leading up to your birth. I was on my last mission still in the middle of Fire Country when your mother went into labour."

"I think that was the second most angriest moment of my life. I was so upset that he was going to miss your birth." Yoshino mused with an easy smile. "You were a stubborn little thing– took 28 hours to come out.”

“You gave me enough time to get back.” Shikaku said– almost as if some roundabout way of thanking her for being so late.

“You only got there an hour before I gave birth you idiot!” She scolded him before turning back to Shikachi. “He was _filthy_ when he got to the hospital room.” She grumbled.

“The nurses were so angry at me. Something about hygiene and sterile environments. I stripped right outside the door to put on clean clothes. They wouldn't let me inside otherwise." He recalled, grinning from ear to ear. 

"You were born fifty five minutes later. Eventually, we were all allowed to go home and when we got there we realised your cot hadn't even been assembled yet.” Yoshino continued. "From that point on it felt like we were always one step behind. Always unprepared." 

"How did you manage?" Shikachi asked, hoping for an answer. 

Yoshino hummed, combing her fingers through her daughters still wet hair. “We tried our best.” She glanced at her husband briefly. “And we both have regrets. We both wish we did things differently." 

Shikachi bit the inside of her cheek in contemplation as she looked at her father. "Did you know I would become a hokage candidate?" She blurted out. The question had been bugging her for years.

He sighed and dragged a hand down his face. He looked so tired.

"I knew you would be pushed to one of three positions when I was told of your lightning affinity. It was either Jonin Commander, ANBU Commander, or Hokage." He admitted. 

She took a minute to absorb the information before asking something else. "What if... someone with a strong lightning affinity were to appear now?" 

Shikaku’s eyes narrowed in on her, pinning her to her spot with the authority of the Jonin Commander. 

“Have you found someone?” He asked intensely. The tension in the room rose quickly as he waited for her answer. 

“Hypothetically, what would happen?” She steered him away from his current line of questioning. 

“ _Hypothetically,_ you would be asked to train them.” He obliged her.

She bit her lip. "And what if hypothetical me didn't want to train them?" 

Shikaku sighed, brows furrowing as he leaned back into his seat.

“It is expected that you train someone eventually. Your skills are too good to not be passed down." His expression changed slightly–leaning into disapproval. “It would be considered irresponsible on both you and the village's parts to leave someone with such a strong affinity without adequate training.” He informed her.

Picking at the skin around her fingernails, Shikachi sighed. “I just– I want whoever I teach to understand what they're agreeing to. I don't want some five year old that doesn't know what my specialisation prepares you for." She admitted.

Shikaku paused for a second before nodding. "That's understandable. If you gave that as your reasoning to the Hokage, he would probably agree to waiting until any possible future Lightning Specialists were older." He takes in a sharp breath, and she knows immediately what he says next she isn’t going to like. 

"Shikachi, the Hokage's getting old. I would take this as a warning. I expect you will be announced as the next Hokage in the next five years. Taking in Sasuke has bought you time. They won't make you next in line until he's a genin." 

And then it clicked. The reason her father voted for her custody of Sasuke. He was still protecting her. Still buying her time even now.

"So I really am next." She said breathlessly, letting the news slowly sink in.

"There are two opportunities for the declaration. The first would be immediately after Sasuke graduates. But, the Sandaime is soft. If you ask for it, he'll wait until the second opportunity. Which will be after the winter chunin exams, six months after graduation. I'm not sure if it's being held in Konoha then. If by chance it is, he may announce it at the final round." He informed her. 

His information was so _detailed._

Shikachi came to a startling realisation. 

_He must have already talked about this with the Hokage._

Shikaku ploughed on, words falling from his lips as if he was giving a mission report. "You need to be ready when it is announced. Do you have a plan for achieving S-rank in the bingo book? It isn't an official requirement but you will be looked down upon if your rank is not S. Ideally, it will be flee on sight." 

Shikachi swallowed dryly. “I have a plan, yeah.”

Her father nodded and stood, stretching with his arms above his head until his back gave way to a satisfying _pop_. 

"Good. Focus on that for now– along with looking after Sasuke. If you ever need help, we're here for you. It's getting late so I think we should all head to bed. You can carry on worrying in the morning." 

She snorted quietly, knowing she’s perfectly capable of worrying for the all the shinobi nations twice over. Following her father out of the room, she let herself be guided to her childhood bedroom, with her mother right behind them.

Laying down on a bed that now felt too small, she fell asleep almost instantly.

* * *

Everything was so hot. Her whole left side felt like it was blistering and bubbling over. Opening her eyes, she came face to trunk with a tree. A tree that was crushing her _oh god._ Her chest felt like iron as she pushed and shoved at the bark in agony. _Move,_ **_move_ ** _,_ **_move goddammit_ ** **_._ **

With hot tears streaming down her face and blurring her vision, she looked up to see a boy– _blond hair, tanned skin_ –Darui.

“Time to finish what I started–” A crackling hand came down on her, inches away from her face and–

–she woke up with a stifled scream, scrambling out of bed and tumbling onto the floor in a heap of blankets and sweaty clothing. 

Shuddering and gasping, she took a few minutes to compose herself. When her breathing returned to normal, she finally got up.

The sun was just rising, she blithely noted as she made the bed and opened the bedroom window. When the room looked untouched once again, she hopped out of the window and began walking back to their apartment. Taking the time to practice what she would say, she repeated it over and over in her head, before resolving to make breakfast for the three of them as well.

When she arrived, the apartment was silent. She could sense Kakashi and Sasuke’s chakras in their bedroom. She guessed Sasuke must have slept in their bed for the night. The thought only made her feel worse.

Shikachi tiptoed to the kitchen and decided to make eggs and rice. Surely that was something she couldn’t mess up, right? 

The rice was easy to make. It wasn’t fluffy like her mother’s or even Kakashi’s was, but it was edible so she set it aside whilst she cooked the eggs. 

_Just crack them in the pan and let them do their thing_. 

She watched the three eggs sizzle away anxiously, waiting until the whites were completely cooked and the yolks were still runny before taking them out of the pan. 

She put some rice in three bowls and laid the eggs atop the tiny mounds. Placing them at the table, she turned to the doorway to see Kakashi standing there. He regarded her silently, taking in her appearance and the breakfast on the table before returning to the bedroom. 

Her heart sunk as she sat at the table, waiting for either of her boys to reappear. 

Just as she thought the rice had gone cold, Sasuke sat opposite her, with Kakashi in the chair to her left. Shikachi looked at Sasuke, saw the caution in his eyes, and wanted to cry all over again.

“I’m so sorry Sasuke.” She said, voice full of regret. “What I did to you last night is unforgivable.” 

He was silent for a minute– one _excruciatingly_ long minute. “It’s ok. I forgive you.” He uttered quietly.

“It isn’t ok. What I did isn’t ok. _It’s never ok_. I want you to understand that.” She said pointedly– angry at herself for ever thinking otherwise.

Sasuke huffed. “I get it. Can I eat breakfast now? It’s getting cold.” He grumbled, already reaching for his chopsticks.

Shikachi relaxed, smiling in relief. 

“Knock yourself out.” She said, picking up some food with her own chopsticks.

The food tasted terrible, but they ate it all anyway before getting ready. 

Kakashi lounged around in in pyjamas as Shikachi kitted up. It was his turn to stay in the village whilst his partner was sent out. Putting on her knife rig was as easy as breathing. She zipped up her Jonin vest and finished by tying her hitai-ate around her forehead. 

She turned to Kakashi who was reading a novel on the bed. “I’ll probably head out straight away once I get the mission.” She murmured, securing any buckles and checking her pockets. “If I’m not back two days before the due date then somethings probably gone wrong.” She reiterated the same thing they always said before leaving.

“Shikachi I know. Go.” Kakashi said. He watched as she secured a few senbon in her bun. The final touches. 

“No, listen. I know I say this every time but I won’t be late back. If I _am_ late, I’m either dead or stranded halfway across the continent.” She said, puffing her cheeks out in annoyance. 

Kakashi rolled his eyes with a huff and got up from his position on the bed to grasp her shoulders, chakra completely at ease. “You’re going to be fine.” 

Exhaling, she nodded. “Yeah, I know.” She paused as she bit her lip. “There’s something I need to tell you when I get back.” Running her tongue over where she’d gnawed, she licked up the blood, unbothered. 

“Is it important?” He asked.

Shikachi hummed. “Yeah, but it can wait.” She had time. 

Nodding, he let his hands run down her shoulders to her hands to give them a minute squeeze before letting her go. “Stay safe out there.” 

She smiled. 

“I will.” 

Stopping at Sasuke’s room on her way out of the house, she knocked on his door and waited for the boy’s affirmation before peeking her head in. “I’m heading out now. I’ll see you as soon as I get back, okay?”

“Promise you’ll train with me when you get back?” He asked grinning, the previous night already forgotten.

“Only if you go easy on me. You’re getting good at the Uchiha Style.” She shot back, a smile easily finding its place upon her lips. 

“Deal.” He hugged her and she held on tight, relishing the moment. With one last hair ruffle, she put on her shoes and made her way to the mission office. 

* * *

Standing in the line for the missions desk, she pulled out _The Dangers of Chakra, Volume IV,_ a small but detailed book written by Senju Tsunade. Each volume covered different medical issues surrounding chakra. From chakra exhaustion in the first volume to what happens to the tenketsu when too much chakra is put through them in her current book. 

The ninja behind her, a trio of Chunin from the corps, gawked at her. She resolutely ignored them, pocketing her book as she reached the front of the line. 

“Hatake Shikachi, 131909.” She said routinely. 

The desk clerk was new, she noted. They didn’t seem to recognise her. Flipping through his clipboard, he found her name, eyes widening minutely as he picked up a black scroll and handed it to her along with an attached note. 

“Your mission partner is Inuzuka Hana.” He informed her. 

She nodded and pocketed the scroll. “Thanks.”

“Inuzuka…” She mumbled as she walked out. 

Heading to the Inuzuka Compound, she knocked on the Main House front door. A small boy answered. 

“Who are you?” He scrunched up his nose. 

“Hatake Shikachi. Tell your mother I’m here.” She answered, cocking an eyebrow when he narrowed his eyes at her. 

“Kaa-san! There’s some lady asking for you!” He shouted.

“Well who the hell is it?” A woman’s voice called back, clearly from the other side of the house. 

He turned back to her. “What was your name again?”

“Hatake Shikachi.” She supplied patiently.

“Hatake Shikachi!” He yelled.

“Let her in!” 

The boy grumbled but let the door swing open as he trudged back inside.

“And you are?” Shikachi asked. 

“Inuzuka Kiba.” He said like it was obvious. 

She hummed. “Nice to meet you Kiba-san.” 

He eyed her cautiously before shrugging. “Whatever you say lady.” 

Someone descended the stairs. 

“What are you doing here Hatake?” Tsume asked gruffly. 

“I’m here for Hana-san actually. I was hoping you’d know where to find her.” Shikachi said.

The older woman’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Oh, she’s in the kitchen. Follow me.” 

Shikachi mirrored her surprise but trailed behind her. 

“Hana, there’s someone here for you.” Tsume announced. 

Both Tsume and Kiba sat at the kitchen table, clearly curious about what Shikachi could possibly want with their family member. 

“You’re a Chunin.” Shikachi realised with a small frown.

“Is that a problem, short sprout?” Tsume barked. 

She huffed, pulling out the scroll and placing it on the table. 

Tsume went quiet very quickly after seeing the colour it adorned. “They can’t be serious.” Tsume said in horror. 

Scowling, Shikachi put the scroll back in her pocket. 

“I’m not taking you with me.” She said quietly.

Hana coughed, spluttering through her bacon. “What? I can’t just not show up for a mission! We’ll both get in trouble.” 

“I’ll tell them what’s what. Finish your breakfast.” She turned to Tsume and bowed. “Sorry for the trouble.” 

The woman waved her off. “Feel free to let yourself back in if the Hokage makes you take her with you.” 

“She’s not coming and that’s final. I’ll make that _very_ clear.” Shikachi said, her lips curling in disgust at whoever assigned them to the mission. 

Tsume grinned. “This is why I like you.” 

Shikachi gave them all a small smile before making her way out. 

“To the Hokage it is.” She said to herself.

After a leisurely walk across the village, she climbed the stairs and waited at the receptionist’s desk to be seen. 

“Can I help you?” The desk ninja asked. 

“I need to speak to the Hokage.” She declared. 

“What’s it about?” The clerk asked, eyeing the ever growing line of ninja waiting to speak to the man. 

“Team composition of a classified mission.” Shikachi gave a non-answer. 

The clerk gaped at her, never having heard of such a request. 

“You know what? You can go next.” The clerk said, waving her off and turning back to her paperwork. 

“Thanks.” Shikachi responded dryly. 

Standing at the front of the line, she ignored the complaints of the Genin behind her. 

“How come she gets to go in front?” One of the children huffed. 

Shikachi glanced at them with a cocked eyebrow. 

Their Jonin sensei slapped said Genin upside the head. “Because she has more important things to speak to the Hokage about. Now stop complaining.” He turned to her with a sheepish smile. “Sorry Hatake-san.” 

At that moment the door to the office and a team of chunin walked out. 

She answered him as she stepped inside. “Don’t worry about it.” 

The doors shut behind her and she approached the desk. “Hokage-sama.” She murmured as she bowed. 

“Shikachi-chan, how can I help you?” Hiruzen asked.

“It’s about this mission I was assigned.” She pulled out the scroll with the attached note and handed it to him. “I’m not taking Inuzuka Hana with me. Are there no Jonin available?” 

The Hokage frowned. “I’m afraid not. It’s a busy period right now. There’s only Chunin free on the rota.” He answered, handing the scroll back. 

“Then I’ll go alone. Please reassign her elsewhere.” She said.

He puffed out some smoke with a sigh. “You can’t go alone. It’s suicide.” 

“Better one of us dies than two.” She said detachedly with a bow. “Thank you for understanding.”

“You’re going to get yourself killed.” He called out to her as she turned her back to him.

“I’ll see you in two weeks, Hokage-sama.” And she walked out. 

* * *

The reason it was an S-Rank, Shikachi concluded later, was because her target was a Jonin from the Hidden Sand Village. She had to intercept him before he crossed the border and eliminate him without leaving a trace. If she failed, she could cause a war between their nations. 

The scroll had contained intel that he would be returning from the Hidden Waterfall Village. So, she waited in the Land of Rivers, prowling the border towns to make sure he hadn’t already cut through the country. 

He hadn’t. 

She made camp just outside the most likely village he would stop in, even if only for food. 

On the third day, he and his team passed straight through.

_He and his team._

_Three Jonin._

That was not what her intel told her. 

Should she turn back and fail? Or should she attempt to take them on and possibly get herself slaughtered in the process?

She assessed her options. 

They were moving fast and hard. She had about three hours before they made it to wind country. 

An ambush wouldn’t work in wind country. It was too flat for any real cover.

Frowning, she made her decision. 

She pushed ahead, tailing them closely. Masking her chakra, she got in close. 

Fifty metres to go.

Thirty metres.

Fifteen.

Her shadow stretched out, aided by the trees, and snagged one of them. She cursed. She meant to grab at least two. 

Her victim fell, head splitting on the tree branch with a sickening _crack_ as she pierced them with her shadow. Released from the jutsu, they plunged to the ground.

“Ryosuke!” Their teammates shouted after them.

She brought her hands together, hands forming familiar hand signs. 

“Twin Wolves Jutsu.” She muttered, letting her chakra loose, snapping and crackling jaws of her wolves ploughing through the trees towards their target. 

Her target made hand signs too. “Blade of Wind.”

_Shit. Wind beats Lightning._

She ducked through the trees, landing softly on the forest floor and eyeing her opponents above. 

A hand grabbed her ankle, yanking her leg halfway into the ground before she sent so much lightning into the earth the ground split in two. Her enemy resurfaced, definitely dead now. 

But he’d done his job. 

Water bullets hit her and she cried out, prying her leg free just in time to duck a kick that would have shattered her. 

She needed to retreat. But there was no outrunning these two now. 

They tag teamed her. A kick to the ribs, a punch to the jaw, a knife to the gut. She coughed up blood as she sent lightning chakra down the blade. By some stroke of luck, it was the water user on the other end. He dropped like a rag doll, writhing and twitching before going still. 

Her target moved back out of her range and made more hand signs. 

“Wind Release: Vacuum Serial Waves.” 

Blade after blade of wind volleyed at her, all from different angles so it was impossible to dodge. Having nowhere to run, she did the last thing she could think of. 

Channelling almost all of her remaining chakra, her form lit up a blinding white-blue.

He closed in on her, kunai coated in wind-natured chakra that she was sure would cut through every defense she had. She braced herself, dodging as best as she could in her current state. 

It was difficult. Her nerves felt like they were being fried as she pooled chakra at the site where he aimed. Adrenaline covering the pain of her tenketsu searing through themselves, they both watched as her target’s blade glanced off of her. Not even a scratch. 

She took the opportunity to ram her knife through his neck, stabbing down, _down_ , **_down_ ** until the metal touched the earth. 

Her chakra fizzled out and she fell to her knees. 

“Fuck.” She took a deep breath. “Don’t pass out now.” She berated herself.

In agony, she trudged over to each body and sealed them in a body scroll. 

The Hokage’s words echoed in her mind. _You’re going to get yourself killed._

“Fuck you old man.” She spat out the blood pooling in her mouth with a grimace. 

Pulling out her first aid kit, she shrugged off her Jonin jacket and cut through the remains of her undershirt. There were multiple stab wounds. With shaking hands, she wrapped her torso in bandages.

Standing, she wanted to cry. 

“Definitely fucked up that jutsu.” She said to herself with a self-deprecating smile. She slipped her Jonin vest back over her shoulders and started walking.

_If I move my ass, I could make it to the Fire Country Outpost._ She thought bitterly. 

“Man, Kakashi’s gonna kill me.” Shikachi concluded solemnly, two hours into her trek and already halfway to delirium.

She wasn’t too far from the border now. Her plan _was_ to pulse her chakra in the Konoha Standard SOS pattern. But she couldn’t touch a single morsel of chakra without an excruciating burning going through her entire being. 

So, she trudged on. Fever taking hold of her, she just focused on the trees ahead of her. 

_Tunnel vision is dangerous._

She recalled from an academy lecture, 11 years past. 

Putting one foot in front of the other, she finally crossed the border and stopped to hack up more blood. 

She was sure there was a routine patrol around here somewhere. Still, in her current state she could barely tell up from down– let alone recall the patrol patterns for this part of the border. 

A duo of Chunin touched down opposite her, a fair distance away. 

“State your purpose!” One commanded. 

Shikachi collapsed, letting her knees dig into the soil as she folded over to vomit. Spitting out another collection of blood, she smeared her body fluids with the back of her hand. 

“Hatake. Shikachi. One. Three. One. Nine. Zero. Nine.” She heaved. “I hope to god you belong to Konoha.” She rasped out before succumbing to the darkness that clouded her vision. 

* * *

Kakashi knew there was something wrong when Shikachi hadn’t returned to the village three days before her due date. He was _sure_ the mission had gone wrong when she was late back. She was never late.

As he was preparing to go speak to the missions desk and then the Hokage about her whereabouts, there was a knock at the door. Dread pooled deep in his stomach as he answered it. A scrawny Genin stood on the other side– holding a missive. The Genin handed it to him, looking mildly terrified of the Jonin before him. 

“A message for Hatake Kakashi, sir.” He announced. 

Kakashi opened it immediately and felt his heart drop at the message. 

Shikachi was at a Konoha outpost near the River Country border, unconscious and fatally wounded. 

He looked at the Genin who was shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot. “Thank you. You can go.” He dismissed him. 

Going back to the missive, he read it again. She was being transported to Konoha General Hospital now and was due to arrive in two days time. Her wounds were stable but bad. Kakashi didn’t want to dwell on it but he found himself thinking of every worst-case scenario. 

Sasuke was already at the academy, expecting to see Shikachi tonight after she returned from her mission. So, Kakashi decided to break the news to him before he got home. 

He made it to the academy and found the receptionist easily. 

“I need to speak with Uchiha Sasuke.” He said. 

The woman behind the desk nodded. “Give me a few minutes. I’ll go get him for you.” 

True to her word, Sasuke was brought to him less than five minutes later. He knelt down so they could see eye to eye. 

“Sasuke, I know you were excited about Shikachi coming home but she’s going to be a bit late.” He began. When the boy’s expression soured, Kakashi continued. “She’s injured and is being moved to the hospital in the village. She’ll be here in a few days. I–” He sighed. “I just wanted you to know now.” 

Tears pooled at the corners of Sasuke’s eyes, threatening to spill over. “Is she going to be okay?” 

After all he’d been through, he deserved the truth. “I don’t know right now. As soon as I do I’ll let you know. And as soon as she’s allowed visitors I’ll take you straight there, okay?” 

Sasuke nodded, taking a deep shuddering breath. 

“You promise?” 

Kakashi held out his little finger. “Pinky promise.” 

Their fingers connected and Kakashi gave him a crescent-eyed smile. 

“Are you alright to head back to class now? Or do you need a minute?” He asked. 

“I can go back now.” Sasuke said hotly. 

Still smiling, Kakashi stood and ruffled the boy’s hair.

“I’ll see you at home then.”

Kakashi waited until Sasuke disappeared around the corner of the corridor before leaving.

* * *

The next two days were spent anxiously waiting for Shikachi’s return.

As promised, she was carried through the Western Gate two days after Kakashi received the missive. She was strapped into a stretcher carried by two Chunin, still unconscious. 

Kakashi had been sitting outside the hospital since Sasuke had gone to school. He held _Tales of a Gutsy Ninja_ in front of him– not really reading it but finding comfort in the familiar pages.

At around three in the afternoon, nearly five hours since Kakashi had parked himself on the bench, they finally arrived. The moment he recognised her he shot up immediately. He walked beside the group as they took her upstairs to the ward she had been designated to. Anxiously, he waited outside the room as the medics set up all her monitors and her IV. 

Half an hour later, a doctor came out to greet him. This was the doctor who had treated her at the outpost. 

“I’m Dr. Chiake. I’ll be Shikachi-san’s main doctor until she wakes up.” He introduced himself.

Kakashi bowed to him. “I’m Hatake Kakashi, Shikachi’s partner and Clan Head.” He swallowed, glancing at his partner lying on the bed for a second. “Is… is she going to be okay?” 

The man held a grim expression. “Her wounds are severe Hatake-sama.” He sighed. “I’m not even sure how she made it to the outpost to be completely honest with you.” 

“What are her injuries?” Kakashi asked. 

“Three stab wounds, four broken ribs and a lot of minor cuts– I think from some kind of wind-natured jutsu. But that's not even the most worrying thing.” He paused, eyebrows furrowed. “It’s her tenketsu.” He sounded confused. “I’ve never seen anything like it. She’s fried nearly every single one in her body. She must have been in excruciating pain before she made it to the outpost.” 

“What does that mean, exactly?” Kakashi asked, wishing he didn’t have an idea what the answer would be.

“It… it could be the end of her career.” He revealed.

Putting a steadying hand against the wall, Kakashi slumped in disbelief. 

“Please be rest assured, I’m going to request a specialist to take a look at her as soon as possible. Until he’s looked at her I’m keeping her in an induced coma since I’m worried about how her chakra will react when she wakes up.”

“So once the specialist has seen her and gives her the all clear you’ll wake her up?” The man nodded. “Thank you Doctor.” He took a minute to compose himself. “Is it alright if I bring our ward to come see her?”

“Of course, as long as it’s within visiting hours you’re both more than welcome.” Dr. Chiake gave him a kind smile. “If you have any more questions or concerns feel free to ask me at any time.” 

With a final affirmative nod from Kakashi, the doctor walked down the hall. 

Taking a deep breath, Kakashi entered the room and sat in the plastic chair beside the bed. He spent the next ten minutes in silence just studying her and the monitors around them. 

“Please be okay.” He whispered. 

Running his thumb over the back of her knuckles, he gave them one last squeeze before leaving. He had a promise to keep.

Knowing where the academy reception was, he walked in confidently. 

“I’m taking Uchiha Sasuke out of school for the rest of today.” He scratched his cheek with the tip of his finger sheepishly. “If you don’t mind, could you go get him for me?”

“Why are you taking him out?” The woman asked suspiciously, a different receptionist from last time. 

“His other guardian has just been transferred to the hospital and I promised I’d take him there as soon as she was allowed visitors.” He revealed, a little more uncomfortable now.

The woman nodded. “Of course. I’ll go get him for you.” 

A couple of minutes later, Sasuke came sprinting down the hall. 

“Is she back? Is she?” He asked excitedly. 

Kakashi smiled, draping an arm around the boy’s shoulders and walking them out. “She is. She’s not awake right now but you can still see her. We can even stay until dinnertime if you want to.” He offered. 

Sasuke practically dragged Kakashi to the hospital, determined even as he took multiple wrong turns on the way to the ward. Eventually, they made it to her room and Sasuke entered without hesitation. He sat on the plastic chair by her bed and peered over her nervously. 

“She looks hurt.” He whispered. 

Kakashi hummed, standing next to Sasuke. “They’re keeping her unconscious until the specialist can see her.” 

“Why?” Sasuke probed. 

The man took a moment to deliberate on how much detail he should go into. “Do you know what tenketsu are?” At Sasuke’s blank stare, he changed his course a little. “Do you know what chakra is?” He asked instead.

Sasuke nodded vigorously. “Yeah I know what _that_ is.” He answered, puffing out his chest proudly. 

Kakashi smiled at the sight. 

“So to channel your chakra, it has to go through your tenketsu. Like providing a bridge between your chakra network and your ability to channel your chakra outwardly, for things like jutsu.” He paused. “You following so far?”

Sasuke nodded. “Uh-huh.” 

“Shikachi’s tenketsu have been damaged. They’re not sure how, or to what extent. Which is why they’re bringing in a specialist– someone who knows a lot about tenketsu. “ Kakashi explained.

“Is she in pain?” The boy asked worriedly. 

“I don’t think so. Not whilst she’s unconscious like this. When she wakes up she might be in pain then and that could be dangerous–which is why she’s still unconscious.” He said.

Sasuke furrowed his eyebrows. “How is being in pain dangerous?” 

Kakashi sighed inwardly. _Always full of questions, this one._ Still, he persevered. 

“It’s normal to feel pain. The cuts and bruises you get from training are bothersome but not dangerous. Shikachi’s injuries are in her tenketsu–mostly. Almost all of your tenketsu sit near or are connected to your nerves and nerve endings. The nerves are what let you feel pain. So lots of her tenketsu are sending signals to her nerves to say she’s in pain. That’s… a lot of input for one person.” He tilted his head, trying to think of a good analogy. “Like how when you feel really angry or upset and you feel overwhelmed.” At Sasuke’s nod, he continued. “If she was to wake up now, she could be overwhelmed by the pain. If that happens, she could go into shock.”

“And that’s bad?” Sasuke guessed.

Kakashi nodded. “She could die from shock. That’s why this sort of pain is dangerous– because it’s a lot and it’s overwhelming.” He summarised. 

The boy stayed silent, mouth hanging open in surprise. 

“I’m hoping they can wake her up once the specialist can see her.” Kakashi consoled.

“You promise she’s gonna wake up?” Sasuke asked hopefully.

Kakashi sighed. “I can’t promise you that Sasuke.” 

The boy deflated before turning to look at Shikachi. The rest of the visit was spent in uneasy silence. 

* * *

The following day, Kakashi stood at the back of the room as the specialist began their diagnostic tests. Said specialist was a man from the Hyuuga Clan. It was unusual, Kakashi thought. Most Hyuuga weren’t medics. Still, he knew what he was doing so Kakashi trusted him to do his job.

Kakashi felt his worry build the more concerned the medic looked. 

“Is there something wrong?” He asked nervously. 

The man sighed. “I’ve never seen anything to this extent,” He paused briefly. “but it’s treatable.” He tacked on. 

Kakashi’s head snapped up, eyes wide with hope. 

“She’ll need a lot of rehabilitation and physical therapy. Before we wake her up I’m going to create a treatment plan for her and I need you to sign it off to _promise me_ she’ll stick to it. If she doesn’t attend every session and do everything she’s told, this really will be the end of her career.” He said strictly. 

Kakashi straightened. “You have my word.”

The medic nodded “Then I’ll begin immediately with that plan and ensure it is approved by two other doctors by the end of the day. We’ll wake her up tomorrow morning.”

Kakashi bent at the waist, nearly a full ninety degrees. 

“You have my sincere thanks.” 

“I’m just doing my job, Hatake-sama.” The man responded. He returned the bow and then walked out of the hospital room. 

Collapsing in the chair by the bed, Kakashi smiled upon his partner with renewed hope. She would wake up tomorrow.

* * *

The next morning couldn’t have come quick enough. 

Kakashi had broken the news to Sasuke, who was now bouncing on the balls of his feet next to him at the back of the room as the medics buzzed around his partner’s bed. 

The Hyuuga specialist had gone through Shikachi’s treatment plan with him in detail just half an hour earlier. Bed rest, when she could go home, medications she would need to take, physical and chakra therapy appointments– already pre-booked for months ahead of time. The man was meticulous and he was _good._ Incredible at his job. Kakashi was relieved to have the man helping them. 

They had her doped up on lots of pain medication along with chakra restricting bands on her wrists and ankles in case she woke up and became combatant. 

“She should wake up in a couple of minutes.” The specialist informed them. 

Taking their cue, they came forward and sat on the chairs beside her bed. The nurses had given them an extra for the occasion. 

The pair waited in anticipation, looking for any sign that she was conscious. Finally, after many agonising minutes, a small groan left her lips. 

Opposite them, the doctor stood at the ready. “Hatake Shikachi? Can you hear me?” He asked.

Shikachi turned her head towards his voice, eyebrows slowly creasing. “What’s…” She trailed off, eyes prying themselves open by a millimetre and wincing at the light.

“Hatake-san, you’re currently in Konoha General Hospital. You’ve been unconscious for fourteen days. The time is currently 9:37 am.” He informed her. 

Her head turned the other way, lips pulling up into a weak smile. Kakashi let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. 

He grabbed her hand gently. “You’re going to be okay.” He whispered. 

It took her a moment to process everything. 

“Two weeks? I’ve been unconscious for two weeks?” She croaked, looking back at the doctor. 

He nodded. “That is correct. You’ve sustained severe damage to your tenketsu so I placed chakra restricting bands on your wrists and ankles as a precaution in case you attempted to use your chakra as you woke up. I’m going to remove them now, okay?” At the teens nod, he took the bands off of her, keeping a keen eye on her. “Don’t channel any chakra. It could damage your tenketsu further.”

“Got it.” She licked her lips. “Could I have some water please?” She asked.

He nodded towards a nurse. “Of course.” 

They spent the next few minutes readjusting her so that she was sitting up so that she could drink said water. When she was handed the cup, she brought it up eagerly and took multiple refreshing sips. 

“I’m just going to conduct some routine tests on you now, okay Hatake-san?” The Hyuuga said. 

Shikachi hummed, still out of it from the drugs. “What’s your name again?” 

He smiled. “My apologies. I’m Hyuuga Tanaka, and over there is Dr. Chiake. I specialise in tenketsu injuries and Dr. Chiake has been your doctor since the outpost.” He went quiet to listen to her heart, stethoscope in both ears. 

They spent the next few minutes in comfortable silence as the man ran through his tests. 

“Everything looks okay so far. I just need to ask you a few questions– to check for any concussion or cognitive issues.” At Shikachi’s nod, he continued. “Who is the Hokage?” 

An image flashed through Shikachi’s mind. _“Fuck you old man.”_ She brought up a hand to wipe away blood that no longer dripped down her chin. A ghost of the past.

“The Third. Sarutobi Hiruzen.” She answered. 

“Good. That’s good.” He pulled out a pen from his pocket and held it up. “I want you to follow this with your eyes, okay?” 

She nodded. “Okay.” 

Taking his cue, he shifted the pen from side to side, watching her intently as only her eyes moved. “You’re doing great so far Hatake-san. Now I’m just going to ask one or two more questions.” He informed her. After a second, he began. “What is today's date?” 

Her eyebrows furrowed and she gave a small huff. “Give me a minute.” She looked up at the white ceiling tiles in concentration. She left for her mission on the eighth of September. She fell unconscious four days after leaving Konoha. “Eight plus four plus fourteen is twelve plus fourteen which is… twenty-six.” She looked back at the room.”Is it the twenty-sixth of September?” She asked.

Both doctors smiled at her. “Yeah you’re fine up here.” Tanaka tapped the side of his head as he spoke. “Physically, you’re not doing so great.” He shifted uncomfortably. “What... _exactly_ did you do? I can only assume the injuries to your tenketsu are the result of a jutsu.”

Shikachi looked down at her hands. 

“I attempted an incomplete jutsu, and it backfired.” She grimaced. “Badly.” She looked up in thought. “I… my chakra was unbalanced– unevenly distributed. And I executed it too quickly. I didn’t give myself time to adjust to the chakra increase.” She hypothesised. 

“You knew this might happen.” Tanaka guessed, clearly disapproving. 

She nodded. “I did.” She admitted, shrugging weakly before wincing at her ribs. “I had nothing else. I needed something that would overpower my opponent at short range. But our chakra natures weren’t in my favour.” She revealed without telling much. 

“Well, your actions have landed you on medical leave indefinitely. It will take at least four months of regular appointments to heal your tenketsu. But you will need more time after that to get yourself back to the fitness level you had before.” He looked at her sternly. “I want your word that you will attend every appointment. This is imperative to your recovery, Hatake-san.” 

She returned his serious look. “You have my word.” She promised solemnly. 

“I’m glad to hear that. Now, I want to keep you here until we’ve healed those stab wounds and broken ribs. It normally takes a few days for that. Once I’m satisfied, you’ll be allowed to return home on the condition that you do no strenuous exercise and you don’t use your chakra.” He said.

“Thank you again, Tanaka-sensei, Chiake-sensei.” She reiterated. 

“We’ll leave you three to catch up.” Dr. Chiake said. Taking their cue, both doctors left the room. 

Sasuke launched from his chair to her bedside immediately. 

“What happened on the mission? What jutsu did you use?” He asked his rapid-fire questions. 

Shikachi laughed. “Classified and _classified–_ nosy.” 

Sasuke groaned. “C’mon that’s so _boring._ Can’t you tell me anything?” 

She shrugged and then winced as her ribs complained at the motion. “I’ll tell you when you’re older.”

“Okay.” Shikachi smiled as he waited five seconds. “What about now?”

“Still not old enough. Ask me again when you’re a Jonin.” She looked at Kakashi. “I’m sorry for worrying you.

The man let his eyes crinkle into ever familiar crescents. 

“I’m just glad you’re alive.” He said. 

She smiled and looked at Sasuke. “Me too.”

Kakashi cleared his throat and handed a few coins to Sasuke. 

“Sasuke why don’t you go get yourself something to eat?” 

The boy took the money eagerly and hopped off the bed. “Sure.” 

They waited for the door to close behind him. When it did, Kakashi engulfed his partner in a gentle hug. He pressed his face into the crook of her neck and took a shuddering breath. “Never do that again. Please. I can’t go through that again.” 

She relaxed in his hold. “I promise.” They pulled away and she smiled weakly. “Sounds like I’m going to be out of commission for a while anyway.”

Kakashi held a grim expression. “The doctors said that if you don’t stick to the treatment plan this could be the end of your career.” 

She froze; heart trapped in her throat. 

“I’ll do everything they say. This can’t be the end.” Her lips quirked up. “I haven’t even been made Hokage yet.” 

It dawned on him slowly, eyes widening as he collapsed into the hospital chair. 

“Hokage?” He croaked. 

She looked down shyly, fiddling with her bedsheets. “I’m the successor, unofficially. My dad told me the night I– that night. They want to wait until Sasuke’s a Genin to announce it, so we have time.” She revealed. 

“Wow.” He breathed. “Shikachi that’s fantastic news.”

“You’re not upset? I know we spent years trying to avoid being next in line–”

“–we did that because we were children, Shikachi. You weren’t ready. In four years you’ll be twenty.” He laughed in disbelief. “You might even beat Minato-sensei for being the youngest Hokage ever.”

She snorted. “I’m sensing a pattern there.” Hesitating, she bit her lip. “There… there was something else that I was told.”

Humming, he slouched in his chair, clearly attentive.

She continued. “He said that I’d be expected to take on an apprentice at some point.” 

He looked contemplative. 

“I mean– that’s not too unexpected.” He finally said. “If you did train another Lightning Specialist it would take a big burden off of you.” 

“He’s not ready. If he’s mature enough as a Genin I’ll take him on. Otherwise I’ll wait until he’s a Chunin.” She said defensively.

“Okay. It’s your decision. I’ll support you whatever you decide to do.” He reassured her. 

Shoulders dropping in relief, she smiled easily. “Thank you.” She murmured. 

There was a knock at the door. 

“Come in?” Shikachi called. 

Through the door entered the Hokage. 

Shikachi startled. “H-Hokage-sama.” 

Kakashi stood to attention and bowed with his own murmur of _Hokage-sama._

“Please sit.” Hiruzen said to Kakashi. He turned to his ANBU entourage. “Secure the room.” 

They waited a few minutes for the all clear and then a silencing seal was placed around the room.

“Your detailed mission report can wait until you’re feeling better. I just need to know if you were compromised.” He said seriously. 

“There were three Jonin. Not one. Your intel was shoddy.” She said ruefully and gave a small huff. “No, I wasn’t compromised. I eliminated all three and sealed them in body scrolls. No one saw me.” 

“Where are these scrolls?” The Hokage asked.

“Uh…” She paused to think.”They should be in my Jonin jacket?” She asked more than said. “Or maybe weapons pouch since my jacket got shredded pretty badly.” 

“Your stuff's back at the apartment. The scrolls will be in there somewhere.” Kakashi said.

“When you get a chance, give those directly to me. The contents of that mission is now classified. Anything said whilst I have been present must also be kept secret.” The Hokage made clear. 

Both Jonin nodded seriously. 

“Of course, Hokage-sama.” They murmured. 

He relaxed. “I’m relieved you’re alive, Shikachi-chan.” 

“I am too, Hokage-sama.” She said, amused.

Looking between them. “Until you’re able to look after Sasuke alone, I’ll have Kakashi-kun off of the mission roster.” He informed them. 

“Thank you Hokage-sama.” Kakashi said.

“It’s the least I could do.” Hiruzen looked at Shikachi again. “I hope you make a full recovery, Shikachi-chan.” 

With that, the silencing seals came down. He left as fast as he came. 

Sasuke arrived back to their room a few minutes later, a box of dango in one hand and a bag of tomatoes in the other.

“I got you dango nee-chan!” He announced with a wide grin.

Taking the proffered box, she returned the look. “Aren’t I so lucky?” Her eyes lit up as she took the first bite. 

Sasuke munched on his tomatoes happily. He offered one to Kakashi, who took it with a smile. Quicker than Sasuke could see, he pulled down his mask, ate the tomato, and put it back again. He savoured the flavour and the moment. They _would_ be okay. 

* * *

Exactly as Tanaka-sensei and Chiake-sensei had said, three days later Shikachi was waiting for her discharge papers to be processed. 

Kakashi had graciously let her steal his clothes so the teen now sat on her hospital bed swamped in the man’s jonin blues. Sasuke was at school so it was just the two of them waiting in comfortable silence for someone to let them know they could go. 

After an hour of waiting a tired looking Tanaka-sensei finally made it to their room. He held up the discharge papers but held them out of reach for a second. 

“When’s your first session with me?” He questioned. 

“In two days.” She answered diligently. 

“And what will you be doing until then?” He asked.

She straightened under his strict gaze. “Resting.”

“And what must you not do under any circumstances?” 

“Use my chakra.” She said. 

He smiled and handed her the discharge papers. “I look forward to our first session, Hatake-san.” 

Taking them, she stood slowly. “Call me Shikachi. We’re going to be seeing far too much of each other to remain so formal.” 

“I’ll see you then, Shikachi-san.” 

He followed them out the room but when the opposite way down the hallway. 

“Excited to go home?” Kakashi asked. They were walking at a snails pace out of the hospital to account for Shikachi’s injuries. 

“Very. I can’t wait to sleep in my own bed again.” She turned to him with a pout. “Can you summon Pakkun so we can snuggle?” 

He chuckled. “Yeah. He’ll love the belly rubs anyway.” 

She beamed at him. “And the toe bean touches.” 

“And the toe bean touches.” He repeated fondly. “I think this will be good for you.” He said after a minute.

“Hmm?” She hummed questioningly.

“You’ve always hit the ground running since you started at the academy. This will be a good chance for you to slow down for a while.” He explained. “And you’ll be able to _actually_ look at all the theory for that jutsu you fucked up.” He tacked on. 

“It’s a complicated jutsu!” She said, flustered. 

“ _Clearly._ So you should work on that theory a bit more before you try it again.” He berated her. 

She grumbled. “It’s gonna be so long until I’ll be ready to try it again too.” She whined. 

“It is what it is.” He said with a shrug. 

Sighing, she leant into him as they walked. “Yeah. Not much else to do now but get better.” 

“That’s the spirit.”

Eventually they made it to their apartment, with Kakashi carrying Shikachi up the stairs after her complaints of tired legs. He summoned Pakkun once they were safely inside. The pug bounded up to her excitedly.

“I’m glad you’re okay little lady.” He said gruffly. 

“Me too Pakkun. Can we snuggle?” She turned her puppy eyes on him. 

Turning around he made a beeline for the bedroom. “Anything for the little lady.” 

She giggled and joined him on the bed, quickly getting under a pile of blankets.

Kakashi joined them on the other side of the bed, lying down with a sigh. “I could do with a nap.” He admitted.

Burying her face amongst the pillows, Shikachi smiled happily. “A little nap won’t hurt anyone.”

“No I guess not.” Kakashi agreed.

Pakkun was already snoring before he could close his eyes.

* * *

Shikachi’s first healing session went as well as it could have done. Most of it was spent with the teen sat in a chair whilst Tanaka-sensei focused on locating her most damaged tenketsu. He informed her once he found them that they were the ones closest to her core, as was to be expected. 

The healing itself was fine at first when it was just the man’s chakra prodding her own. But the longer he continued his ministrations the more fatigued she became. By the end of the session she was covered in a light sheen of sweat, feeling completely drained. 

“Okay, that’s one tenketsu.” Tanaka-sensei said in an accomplished manner.

_360 to go._ Shikachi thought tiredly. 

“That’s it for our session today. You did great for your first time.” He complimented her. “Rest for a few more minutes to regain your energy before you get up. I’ll get you some water too–hold on.” He returned as quickly as he left, a plastic cup of water in hand. 

Shikachi took a sip and then spoke. “How long do you think until I can go back out into the field?” She asked nervously.

Sighing, the man brought a chair opposite her and sat down. “It’s going to be a while.” With her questioning look, he elaborated. “So, first we need to heal all of your tenketsu. That’s going to take at least another three hundred and sixty sessions– more for certain tenketsu if they’re stubborn. Then we’ll need to conduct chakra therapy which will get your chakra moving through your tenketsu and coils again like before your incident. And _then_ you’ll need to spend time training physically to build your fitness level back up to where it was previously.” He said, a little out of breath by the end.

“Okay…” She waited a minute, absorbing the information. “So if we have three sessions every week it’ll take… four months to heal all my tenketsu.” 

Tanaka-sensei nodded. “Yes, about four to four and a half months to heal every single tenketsu. After that I think we’ll be able to have your chakra therapy sessions everyday. If you are diligent in that, we could get you back to where you were before in a month and a half– maybe two.”

Shikachi added the numbers in her head. 

“So six months? I can train my body whilst we do chakra therapy. It doesn’t have to be after. They can be simultaneous.” She said. 

The man nodded. “Six months is realistic, yes.” 

_Six months._ She knew that she’d have to take some time out for medical leave but that was just _so long._

She took a steadying breath. 

“Okay. Thank you for being honest with me.” 

“Of course. It’s what you deserve. I know how long of a break this will be for you. And– I’m not going to lie, this will be hard. Not difficult in the way of S-Rank missions or wars are. But I’ve found it’s very hard for veterans to sit still for very long. You’ve never had to rest like this before; and that’s going to be hard for you.” Tanaka-sensei said truthfully. 

“Do you have any advice? For resting.” She asked. 

“Keep yourself busy. It might help if you picked up a hobby. You need to fill the time or it’ll bother you. Just don’t do anything strenuous.” He advised.

Handing the plastic cup back, she stood up. “Thank you for helping me.” She smiled. “I’ll see you in two days.”

He took the cup back and offered a smile of his own. 

“I’ll look forward to it.” He followed her out of the door and made sure she was met by Kakashi before waving them off. 

Shikachi linked arms with her partner tiredly and let him lead them out of the building.

“How’d it go?” Kakashi asked. 

“Good. It went well.” She said happily. 

He returned her expression. “I’m glad. How about I take you out to eat? For attending your first session.” 

Perking up at the mention of food she began pulling him in the direction of Yakinin-Q. “That sounds like the best idea you’ve ever had.” 

He rolled his eyes but let himself be pulled along to the famed restaurant. They got a table easily and soon enough Shikachi was emptying the man’s wallet in exchange for food. 

Kakashi let her do so fondly and soon enough they were returning to their apartment. Heading to the bedroom when they got home, Shikachi promptly passed out into the plush coverings. 

* * *

When Shikachi woke up again the apartment was silent. 

She turned over in the bed, completely disorientated. The curtains were still drawn but Kakashi’s spot beside her was mysteriously empty. Waiting a few minutes, she enjoyed the peace and quiet.

Slowly she pried herself from the covers. She took a blanket with her, wrapping it tight around her shoulders and leaving the bedroom groggily. 

Sasuke’s door was open and his room empty. Making her way to the kitchen, Shikachi found a note on the kitchen counter.

_ Gone to get food. Sasuke’s at school. Be back soon. – Kakashi _

She stood idle in the kitchen for a few minutes, letting the tiles freeze her toes as she debated on what to have for breakfast. Feeling lazy, she made herself cereal and curled up on the sofa to eat it, easily folding into the crease she’d made over the years. 

When she finished her food she washed up her bowl and spoon and then went to get dressed. She put on Kakashi’s clothes for comfort, made the bed and opened the curtains. 

She sat back on the sofa. 

It had only been twenty minutes since she woke up. 

She huffed, already bored. 

Before she could think of something to do, there was a knock at the front door. 

Mildly confused, she answered it and was surprised at the person on the other side.

“Tsume-sama.” Shikachi said, startled. 

“Shikachi-san, I’m sorry to drop in unannounced but I was wondering if I could talk with you?” The woman said, unusually formal for her. 

“Uh, yeah sure, come in.” She opened the door wider, letting the woman in and closing the door behind her. She led her to the dining table and gestured for her to have a seat. “Would you like a drink?” She asked.

Tsume grinned. “I’m alright, but thank you.” 

Shikachi nodded and sat in the chair opposite her. “So what did you want to talk about?” 

“I wanted to thank you.” Tsume said. “You saved my daughter's life.” She hesitated for a second. “I asked the Hokage about you when I heard you’d been discharged.” Her expression hardened. “That was a suicide mission. I’ve been around long enough to know what their intentions were with pairing you two together.”

“The intel provided was false, if that helps.” Shikachi offered. 

Tsume waved her off. “You went to the Hokage and refused to take Hana with you, and for that you have my deepest thanks. I don’t know many people who would stand up to the Hokage like that– let alone for someone they don’t know.” The woman smiled in a self assured manner. “And for that, you have the Inuzuka Clan’s favour from now on. If you ever need help, ask for it and my clan will be there to back you up. For anything.” She said seriously. 

Shikachi was breathless. “I– _ thank you _ .” Was all she could really say. She didn’t have words to express how she felt.

Because, inadvertently, _step one of their plan was complete._   
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew, school has kicked my _ass_ this term. I wrote this in the span of 10 days during Christmas break. 
> 
> I'm sure if you've been reading for a while you'll have realised that my updates have slowed down. I hope you still keep reading despite that. University is really hard and I'm trying my best to learn how to manage my time better. I think it's one of those things I'm going to struggle with for a while whilst I figure it out. So thank you for everyone who's stuck with me so far!
> 
> I'm so happy I managed to get this out before the end of the year XD
> 
> I wish everyone reading this a happy and healthy 2021 <3

**Author's Note:**

> Come scream at me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/artofthefangirl)
> 
> If you want to talk to me more about this fic I've made a discord server! You can join [here](https://discord.gg/CzwjQKqxfE)! 
> 
> I'd like everyone to know that I'm writing this fic for fun. Criticism is not welcome on this work and if you cannot say kind and encouraging comments, please click off now.
> 
> Unfortunately, I went away from my account and came back an hour later and had 9 comments across my works from anonymous users spewing hateful comments so I will be turning off anonymous comments from now on. I'm really sorry to anons that genuinely want to comments nice things but I just didn't write this for someone to hate on it.


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